Lostlessness

Poori (Puri) making

2012-01-02T15:30:00.001-08:00

I was inspired by my nephew to try to make some pooris after seeing his on FB. So I googled youtube and found this fabulous video instruction. I followed her recipe and instructions to a T and the pooris turned out nicely puffed and yummy.

Here are some photos of my own poori making attempt....

...and here are the photos of the final product!

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012!

2012-01-02T14:52:00.000-08:00

We finally waved goodbye reluctantly to Year 2011 and welcomed with open arms Year 2012. Our little quiet household had been bustling with activities for the past few weeks. We rushed through (madly) all the shopping, writing/mailing of cards and gifts, cooking and baking. We hosted our friends on Christmas eve as well as Christmas Day - just casual luncheons for small groups, nothing too elaborate or fancy....but a hell lot of booze!

Although we are only renting....we'd usually still try our best to decorate for the festive seasons - with minimum budget and plenty of brain juices. We made sort of a wall banner using all the Christmas cards that we had received from families and friends. My landlord has these evergreen conifers that look like miniature Christmas trees...so we hung lights around them as we didn't want to buy a tree. I also used the holly leaves and berries for the wreath and all around the house.

We received lots of lovely gifts from our friends and neighbors - new and old.

And of course, there were plenty of food and eating and drinking....it's no wonder why my new year resolution is ALWAYS to lose some weight!

This festive season was made even more joyous with the visit of a dear old friend from Singapore. We had a great time shopping, catching up and she cooked for us.

She also brought us some goodies all the way from home....

The birds visited our new birdfeeder and joined in our celebrations....

....and of course, the squirrels too tried to get their hands on the festive goodies but were all defeated by the smart gadget!

We visited the Cape right before New Year and it was nice and peaceful without the summer traffic.

Here are the photos of the very first sunset and twilight of Year 2012.

From the bottom of my heart, I wish everyone nothing but the VERY BEST for the new year. May you have love, peace and joy in your hearts.

Rum (no actually, Whiskey!) balls - recipes & pictorial

2011-12-19T13:04:00.000-08:00

I finally got down to making my rumballs. Actually I used whiskey instead of rum....so technically, they are whiskey balls :P I promised some friends the recipe so here it is (it's more approximate than exact measurements):

Makes about 80-100 small whiskey balls -

9x13" chocolate cake (I used Duncan Hines Devil's cake 'cos it was on sale)

2 cups of ground almond

1 cup of heavy whipping cream

5 tablespoons of whiskey (I used Dewar's)

Chocolate rice for coating

Unsweetened shredded coconut for coating (I used Bob's Red Mill)

Make the cake by following the instructions on the cakemix box. Let it cool to room temperature and then crumble it up with your fingers. I actually made mine in 2 batches (1/2 cake and ingredients at a time) 'cos I don't have such a big mixing bowl.

As I couldn't find ground almonds....I bought the slivered one and put them in the blender on grind/pulse functions to grind them to a powdery form.

It's simple to put the whiskey cake dough together - all you need to do is to add the cake crumbs, ground almond, heavy whipping cream & whiskey together and mix them well such that they all come together. Test the mixture for the right texture. I'd suggest to add the liquids in parts so that you don't end up with too wet a dough (just in case!). However, if the dough is too dry, add more liquids but go easy on the whiskey :P You can chill the dough in the refrigerator for about 20min or so if you wish to, so that the dough is less sticky (hence your work less messy later on).

While the dough is chilling, prepare the coatings for the whiskey balls. I used chocolate rice and shredded coconut...but feel free to use other things like powdered sugar, cocoa powder, nuts or crushed candies etc. I toasted the shredded coconut in a pan over the stove (medium heat). Keep stirring the coconut and watch it closely 'cos the shreds do get burned easily. When the coconut shreds start to turn golden and smell delicious...it's time to turn off the heat. I spread the chocolate rice and shredded coconut onto two separate cookie sheets.

Remove the whiskey ball dough from the refrigerator. I used a mini ice-cream scoop which made my job a whole lot easier. Scoop the dough and drop it on your palm. Use your two palms to roll the whiskey ball into a nice round shape. Then drop the whiskey ball into either of your coating ingredients and roll the ball to coat it nicely and set aside.

Here's how my whiskey balls look after being coated.

I wrapped the whiskey balls individually in red and gold foil. You can also just pop them into miniature cupcake liners. I bought some Christmas-theme tins from Michaels and filled them up with the little whiskey balls. I also added a note that lists the ingredients in case of food allergies.

Well...that's all for the whiskey ball making instructions. The little tins are all out to be delivered to RG's colleagues, neighbors and our helpful sanitation and postal workers today.

That darn flu.....

2011-12-16T10:05:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the year again.....no, I don't mean the holiday seasons but FLU season!! I have been down with cough and flu for the past couple of days. Apart from the flu meds, I have been downing lots of 川貝枇杷膏 as well as hot ginger lemon tea.

I found these vit-C pops at TJMaxx last week for less than $5!! (retailing at Amazon for over $20) I've never had Vit-C that tastes so yummy. My friend from SG is visiting me in a couple of weeks time, I've asked her to bring over some Redoxon vita-immune....I think RG and I both need to put a good amount of Vit-C into our systems to fight the darn flu viruses.

Apart from the X'mas wreath....I haven't been able to hang up the xmas lights yet 'cos it has been cold out there and I'm not exactly in the best of shape to get out into the cold. I also haven't written/mailed out the xmas cards/presents or make chocolate truffles to be given away as xmas gifts to RG's colleagues and neighbors. I hope families & friends will understand if the presents/cards come a little late this year :P

If an apple a day keeps the doctor away....how about 5??! (Apple pie recipe and pictorial)

2011-12-13T10:58:00.000-08:00

I've been down with flu yet again :( The flu meds make me drowsy and to keep myself awake and productive...I decided to bake an apple pie (seeing that I have 5 golden delicious apples tucked away in one corner of the refrigerator, forgotten and almost frozen solid!)

And since I'm baking...I may as well go all out to do a pictorial for my dear readers out there (hello??? *echo*).

So the key ingredients are: 5 golden delicious apples (or most would use granny smith) peeled/cored and cut into thin slices, a dash of ground nutmeg, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tbsp of vanilla extract, 1 tbsp corn starch, 1/2 cup white sugar, 2 tbsp flour, 1/2 cup light brown sugar, 1 cup unsalted butter, 2 tbsp of water and 2x9" pie crusts (I used ready made ones but you can go ahead and make your own if you are more ambitious).

So I usually start by placing the bottom pie crust in the pie dish and then arranging the apple slices as nicely as I can.Next, I melted the butter in a saucepan over the stove and stirred in the flour and corn starch to mix. Then I added in water, white and brown sugar and continue to stir till the mixture became a caramel consistency. Do allow the mixture to come to a slight boil and then reduce to simmer briefly.

I used a big spoon to slowly drizzle the caramel evenly over the apple slices until they were nicely coated. I left a couple tablespoons of caramel behind to be used as a glaze for the pie crust. I put the saucepan back onto the stove with the warmer function on so that the caramel doesn't get hardened. Using a pizza cutter, I cut the other pie crust into strips and made a lattice top for the pie. Then I used a pastry brush to glaze the lattice top with the remaining caramel.

Finally the pie went into the preheated oven (350F) for about an hour. I placed the pie in the middle rack and just below it, I placed a cookie sheet lined with aluminium foil to catch the sticky drips. At this point, your job is all done.....now sit back and smell the awesome fragrance of the pie baking in the oven! An hour later, you are ready to dig in with your fork!

Xmas decorations on a budget

2011-12-12T10:54:00.000-08:00

So what's a gal got to do when she's on a tight budget for her xmas decorations?(A) She uses what she already has;(B) She buys cheap stuffs;(C) She gets her hands dirty or(D) All of the above.

So using what we already have.....a big beautiful Holly tree in the yard!

With a pair of pruning shears and a pair of thick gloves....I went about to trim off some twigs from the Holly tree.

And at Michaels yesterday, I had bought a wreath for less than $2 and a big red bow for $0.99. The cost of Holly leaves/berries - $0.00.

Ta-da! My $2.99 x'mas wreath....not too shabby huh? Well, sometimes, simple is best....especially when budget is tight :P

And the remaining holly leaves/berries, I just bundled up the twigs and tied a ribbon around them for hanging as wall decorations around the house. That is......errrrmmm FREE!

Lil red mushroom on my finger....

2011-12-12T09:02:00.000-08:00

Can't believe it took me so long to finally buy a tube of glue from Michaels to finish off the ring pin cushion that I had made eons ago! Lil red mushroom and adjustable ring got married together by some E-6000 and here's the finished product....

Tried it on....perfect fit of course (the ring is adjustable silly!).

My sewing box is getting wayyyyy out of hand.....I have been having great difficulties rummaging through all the STUFFS to find what I need....some organisation is obviously needed here.....

....and the solution, a hanging jewelry organizer from TJMaxx. Now everything is sorted neatly and in plain sight...what a JOY!

Temperatures are dipping.....

2011-12-11T08:37:00.001-08:00

The past weeks had been pretty warm, which was quite unusual. Finally the temperatures are dropping and it's starting to feel more like winter. Good thing however that on the northeastern coast, cold wintry days aren't dreary like in some other parts of the world. Like now, it looks sooooo sunny outside that you wouldn't be able to tell that it's cold unless you step out of the house. And it's the colder months when the sunrises and sunsets are particularly beautiful. Just the other day, I snapped this shot of the red fiery sky minutes before sunrise. It was most amazing!

RG received his belated birthday present from his family...and it's an iPad2. I'm so jealous :P It even comes engraved with his name and favorite quote. It's the very first i-something in our household so that's a big deal!

Now apples aside....I found these weird looking dark brown tomatoes (called Kumatoes) at the supermarket. I don't really know what to do with them yet....will have to taste it first to see how best to eat them.

Got this big bottle of Earth Friendly hand soap for a great price at Ocean State Job Lot. It's not only gentle on the hands but good for the environment too. It's free of formaldehyde, petrochemicals, GMOs, phosphates, chlorine, ammonia and it's biodegradable and pH neutral. I'll re-bottle the hand soap into one of my foam pump ones to stretch my dollars even further :P

RG needed a document bag to hold his stacks of paper.....so I made him a simple fabric tote using this beautiful map fabric that I had bought awhile ago on etsy. He loves maps too so I figured it'd be a great fabric for him.

Upcycled map of NEW YORK cosmetic pouch

2011-12-06T07:13:00.001-08:00

I'm kind of a travel brochures/maps hoarder. Wherever we travel to....we'll pick up tonnes of them. As my stash continues to grow at exponential speed....I was thinking hard if I could use the beautiful brochures/maps for anything else before resorting to dump some of them out with tomorrow's recyclables. And since I managed to make some cute stuffs out of candy and chips wrappers....I thought why not do the same with the brochures/maps. So here's my upcycled creation for today....I'm actually quite pleased with how it turned out. I mean...I love sewing and I love maps...and there's nothing more enjoyable and fulfiling than to combine these two of my loves. Now my cosmetics have a new home - and a darn cool one I'll say!

Refashioning - The 10-minute neck warmer

2011-12-05T12:14:00.001-08:00

My friend JA showed me some lovely neck warmers online. Call me a moutain tortoise when it comes to winter fashion but I haven't really thought of using anything else apart from a regular scarf to keep my neck warm. JA has opened my eyes to many fashionable possibilities! And I do like the idea of a wearable neck warmer instead of having to twirl the long scarf round and round my neck which could get a little uncomfortable sometimes and not to mention irritating too when the hanging ends end up in all the wrong places like in my hot soup or worse - between the elevator doors!

So today, having a little time to spare, I set out to make myself a new neck warmer - using my old $2 fleece scarf. Nothing elaborate I told myself....I want something that's easy and fast to make and pretty too!

This tutorial is gonna be so easy and quick I promise.

Step 1 - Fold the scarf lengthwise in 2 (right side facing) and pin the 2 edges together.

Step 2 - Machine stitch the 2 edges and remove pins.

Step 3 - Stick your hand into the scarf from the opening (where the frillies are).

Step 4 - Flip the scarf to the right side.

Step 5 - Wrap the sewn scarf around your neck and determine where to place the button and then sew the button in place.

Step 6 - Where the scarf end is supposed to meet at the button, make a knot using the frillies and remember to leave enough space for the button to get through.

Step 7 - Wear and flaunt your new neck warmer that you've completed in less than 10 minutes!

New storm shutters

2011-11-29T05:42:00.001-08:00

While we aren't threatened by huge sea waves 'cos we are located at the pretty sheltered Sippican Harbor....the very open sea frontage location does mean that we are quite exposed to strong winds & storms like the Nor'easters and Hurricanes.

My landlord used to board up all the windows with wooden planks prior to any major storms but he's having problems climbing the tall ladder while carrying the heavy plywoods now. So he decided to put in storm shutters that can be easily lowered and raised by a push of the button. I heard these shutters don't cost cheap. It's really nice how he is always on top of things to improve the house to make it more comfortable and safe for his tenants. He's a great landlord I'll say.

Thanksgiving and my Black Friday haul!

2011-11-26T14:00:00.001-08:00

We were supposed to spend Thanksgiving with TP but unfortunately, she was sick. However, she had already prepared the whole turkey and sides for us so we popped by her place to pick up the food. That poor dear was looking kinda green in the face. I hope she feels better soon. TP had made turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, cream onions and butternut squash. It was a great spread.....the only thing missing was HER :( Anyway, we had promised that we are gonna have her over for dinner once she gets better to make up for her absence on Thanksgiving.

RG and I had a tad too much to eat and drink on that day and we decided to head to bed early as our heads were spinning. We weren't planning to join the Black Friday midnight queues anyway. However, the day after Thanksgiving, we hit the malls at Wareham Crossing before noon to check out the deals. The malls were relatively crowded compared to regular days but hardly a mob scene. Although we missed the doorbuster deals....we still managed to lay our hands on some great buys like the following.

Yo what's up?!

2011-11-24T08:47:00.001-08:00

I'm almost ashamed to say this....but I finally passed the driving test after my third attempt! Most people would've gotten their driving licences in their late teens or early twenties but I'm only getting mine when I'm almost 40. When we were living in Singapore, I saw no need to drive at all.....that combined with my innate fear of driving/being in a moving vehicle....I had never attempted to learn to drive for the last 30ish years of my life. In the United States however, not knowing how to drive is like being disabled. So getting my driver's licence is like obtaining my freedom - the freedom to do whatever I want and go wherever I please. It may still take awhile before I'm totally comfortable driving myself but now that I have the little piece of plastic tucked safely in my wallet....I think it's a darn good start.

Apart from that piece of good news, this month also saw the reunion of old friends. An old friend of mine (classmate from secondary school) and his lovely family came to visit us. My friend is currently doing a graduate course at MIT and he's now living in Boston which is only about an hour's drive from us. It's always nice to have friends nearby. I made laksa and satay for lunch 'cos I thought they might be missing some SG food.

I don't know if I had blogged about this before but one of my mosT moST MOST favorite places to shop is TJMaxx (or Marshalls). I buy all sorts of stuffs from there and this month, I bought quite a lot of gourmet spices, sauces and oils. The prices are just too good to resist. For example, the white truffle oil is like $2-ish a bottle - how great is that! I also got myself the Misto olive oil sprayer....it works great. I need only to give it a few squirts and the salads would get nicely coated with minimum amount of oil. One trick that I've learnt to prevent the nozzle from clogging is to unscrew the cap to release the air pressure after each use.

Last week....we were crossing the Bourne Bridge to get onto the Cape when we witnessed this beautiful sunset over the Cape Cod Canal and Trowbridge. This time of the year, the sunsets are just amazing!

Stretching the donation $

2011-11-15T06:59:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, while we were at Shaw's doing our grocery shopping, RG noticed that they were having a thanksgiving food drive and suggested that we should make a small contribution. We saw that the Progresso soups were on sale at 4 for $5 (regular price is $2.45 per can). There's also an instant $5 savings if you were to purchase 10 General Mills items. So we bought 12 cans of soups for the food drive for $10 ($5 x 3 = $15 - $5 = $10).

Now let's see how we've stretched the donation $:

$10 would normally only get us 4 cans of soup at the regular price of $2.45/can.

With the sale + special savings, we managed to buy an extra 8 cans of soup, making it a total of 12 cans of soup for the Salvation Army food drive.

Shaw's made a sale of $15. As you all know, Shaw's ain't doing too well and there have been news of the chain closing down and people losing their jobs. It is our favorite supermarket and we try to support it as much as we can.

In addition, our soup purchase earned us 40 box-tops for Education which works out to be a $4 donation towards our local elementary school.

So the $10 donation would actually benefit Salvation Army, our local elementary school as well as Shaw's. I'd say that's a win-win-win situation!

I'm currently trying to learn more about (extreme) couponing. Will see if there are other food products that we can buy at very good values to donate to the various food drives.

If you know of any good buys and coupons, do share them with me!

September and October flew past...just like that!

2011-11-09T15:59:00.000-08:00

This post is gonna be my report card for the months of September and October. Do pardon my tardiness with my blog updates.....what can I say, I've been a busy gal in fall - my most favorite season of all.

We celebrated the beginning of fall with the Bourne Scallop Festival. This was our third year attending the festival. This year, we brought along a good friend T with us 'cos she mentioned that she had never been to the festival all these years. We had a blast...everyone was enjoying their scallop/chicken meals and jamming to the cool music by the live bands.

See how big and plump the scallops were!

In the same weekend, we also attended the Working Waterfront Festival in New Bedford. It was our first time attending the celebrations and we really enjoyed the harbor tour on a small vessel, the music performances, environmental exhibits, cooking demonstrations and many more activities.

Here's a fisherman showing off his catch to us as our boat passed by his fishing vessel.

And it was the very first time that I saw the hurricane barrier in such close proximity. According to the guide, the barrier is over 9000-ft long and 20-ft above median sea level and it's the largest stone structure on the east coast.

Me standing on the pier against the backdrop of all the fishing vessels.

With the harvest season, many farm stands and farmers' markets had sprung up.

Early October, our family came for a short visit! They stayed with us for a few days and we showed them around Massachusetts. We also did lots of shopping! Then we drove down to Newport (RI) and Princeton (NJ) together. It was a wonderful time catching up with them and us having fun together as a family. We took many photos in all the places that we had visited.

This was at the Princeton War Memorial.

In Princeton University.

On our back deck.

At the Plymouth harbor, the Mayflower in the distant background.

We also did a tour of the cranberry bog. Here's me scooping up some floating cranberries with my hand.

The huge truckload of cranberries behind them!

RG brought them on a tour of his campus.

Wanting to get to know his students on a more personal level outside of college, he invited all of his students, in small groups, over to our place for dinner on Tuesdays and Thursdays - hence I've termed the little gatherings "Tuesdays/Thursdays with RG". While it was a lot of work, preparing and cooking dinner for the kids....it was all worth it 'cos the informal interactions were loads of fun and we got to know the kids better/the kids got to know RG better outside of class. Here are a couple of the photos that we took.

RG and I had our own little Deepavali celebration on the 26 Oct. We had rendang chicken, curried vegetables with basmati rice.

Although I didn't have time to do any elaborate fall and Halloween decorations this year....I still managed to throw together a few small ones.

I made these little creepy faces using my old nescafe jars and I bought little battery-operated lights to put in them such that they'd glow in the dark of the night.

And what's Halloween without candies??!! Actually the kids don't come to our house for trick-or-treat now that we are so far from the village center.....all these candies were meant for RG's students. This year, we also got some super yummy Lindt truffles from the newly opened Lindt outlet at Wareham Crossing apart from the regular stuffs that we'd buy at Target. I thought we over-bought but RG managed to give away everything! I guess even big kids in their late-teens and early 20s couldn't resist chocolates :)

We joined in the Halloween Parade in Groton (MA). Those 2 BLUE guys were hilarious as they were doing all sorts of funny stunts.

And we did a foliage roadtrip like we do every year - this time, we visited Worcester (MA) and Lowell (MA). In Lowell, we visited the Boott Cotton Mills museum. Being a big fan of fabrics of all sorts, I thoroughly enjoyed watching/hearing the looms and seeing how cotton fabrics are weaved. Of course, I couldn't leave the museum without buying a few yards of the cotton fabrics that had been weaved at the museum!

Although this year's fall foliage ain't as spectacular as the previous years', we still managed to find some beautiful foliage spots.

In Worcester, we visited the Ecotarium during the Great Pumpkin Fest. There, we saw like a few thousands carved pumpkins by school kids. That's me being silly.

Our nephew also visited us during his 1-week fall break. With him, we visited Provincetown on Cape Cod (MA) as well as Cambridge (MA).

Here's one of uncle and nephew enjoying their burgers and irish coffees at Kinsale Inn in Mattapoisett (MA)! In case you are wondering, the giant spiderweb was part of the inn's Halloween decorations.

It was a lovely sunny day (but cold) when we visited P-Town on the Cape.

We ate at Lobster Pot in P-town.....here's me tackling the steamed lobster. Darn it was hard to eat!

On the last day of A's visit, we checked out the 2 ivy-leagues in Boston - Harvard and MIT.

3 of RG's students were involved in a school's drama production and they invited us to attend. The students performed well and it was a great way to spend Saturday night.

Here are photos of RG with his students - can see that he's so proud of them! :)

Oh....we had our first Nor-easter in late October. Our area fared quite well actually....we didn't get much snow, it was mainly just wild winds and heavy rain. And thank god we didn't lose power like the hundreds thousands of homes all over New England as well as in NJ, NY and RI. However, we did lose a small tree in the storm.

I'm not sure why....but the sunrises and sunsets look particularly amazing in fall.

I love how the windows frame the outside view as if they are pieces of art canvas....and the art forms and colors change every second of the day. Well, you can have hanging wall art....or you can just have windows! I can't be more thankful for the wonderful views. If we have to leave this place one day, I know I will miss it very very much.

Can't believe how the 2 months had just gone by in a flash. Soon, it'll be Thanksgiving and Christmas....and another year would've come to an end. I must say it has been a great year thus far!

Therapeutic scrubbing

2011-11-07T15:21:00.000-08:00

My cast iron pans were super neglected and abused by moi. I haven't been really cleaning them properly since I've bought them and have been using them for almost a year now. Today, I decided that I should be a responsible owner and give them a good scrub to get rid of the year-old stains and burnt crusts.

So I made a paste with salt+water and used my detergent free sponge to really give the pans a serious scrub. It wasn't so hard after all, I wondered why I hadn't done this much earlier....the coarse salt paste worked like a charm to rid even the toughest crusts. After several minutes of muscle power, the pans were starting to look as good as new again.

I gave them a good rinse with tap water and dried them with some paper towels. As I needed the pans to be completely dry....I put the pans on the hot stove for a couple of minutes. Then, I poured a little vegetable oil on a piece of paper towel and used it to wipe on the surfaces of the pans to lightly coat them with oil. There, now they are looking all spiffy and screaming to be used.

It was a nice workout for my right arm and kinda therapeutic to see my favorite pans looking so great after the scrubbing.

Call me silly....but such are my simple pleasures.

Today's lunch

2011-10-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

Using the leftovers from Tuesday's gf dinner.....I made myself a gf pulled beef burger topped with coleslaw, onion and tomato.....it's one juicy drippy burger and I needed a handful of napkins to clean up the liquidity mess that I had made.

Attempting a gluten-free meal

2011-10-06T08:42:00.000-07:00

I've never really understood what it means by a gluten-free (gf) diet until a week ago when RG informed that one of our dinner guests is allergic to gluten. For a couple of days, I panicked as I had absolutely no idea what I was going to cook. I did tonnes of research online regarding gf-diet and realised to my horror that so many of the stuffs that we eat would contain some trace amount of gluten in various forms.

It was really hard to come up with the dinner menu 'cos I wanted everyone (gf or not) to be eating the same food. Sure I could've just made some safe gf stuffs for the gf-guy, while everyone else tuck into yummy "regular food" but I really didn't want him to feel left out. On the other hand, I wasn't sure if the other guests would mind chomping on just salads and hummus. My guests are young guys and I want a main dish that they can all enjoy together.

So I finally decided on pulled beef burgers, coleslaw, potato-egg salad and baked corn. Although these are regular foolproof stuffs that I make occasionally, I've never attempted to make them entirely gf. Certain ingredients had to be substituted for gf, the cooking style of the pulled beef was a little different from what I'd normally do 'cos of certain different ingredients and the pot that I used (I avoided using cast iron pots 'cos I read that it could result in cross-contamination).

I started off with buying some gf condiments. I managed to find some gf stuffs in the whole foods section of SHAW'S. I also checked the ingredient labels to double-check that the stuffs are really gf.

I normally use agave nectar as a natural sweetener and I'm glad it's gf.

I read that not all mayo are gf so I decided to make my own instead 'cos I needed mayo for both the coleslaw and potato-egg salad. It's amazingly simple to make your own mayo (no preservatives or whatsoever!). Just blend 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk + 1 tsp gf Dijon mustard + 2 tsp lemon juice and then pour in canola oil (SLOWLY!) while continuing to blend. Finally you can add some salt/pepper but I normally don't so as to reduce our salt intake. The recipe makes approx 2 cups of mayo. I suppose you can store the mayo for up to a week but I usually try to consume it within a couple of days for maximum freshness.

I also put aside all the cast ironwares and non-stick pans that I normally use for my cooking and used stainless steel pots/pans instead...after I've scrubbed the living-daylights out of them. Wooden/silicone spoons were also substituted with stainless steel utensils. I used a glass chopping board instead of a wooden one. I also bought a new knife and aluminium trays. The kitchen countertop was thoroughly cleaned with a fresh rag to ensure that there were no leftover bread crumbs, flour or other "contaminants". I even checked to make sure that the handwash in the guest bathroom does not contain wheat.

As I was serving pulled beef burgers.....I had wanted to buy some gf burger buns but the only thing that I could find were these gf bagels in the frozen whole food section...but I figured it was good enough.

I bought regular burger buns for my other guests and to avoid cross-contamination, I served my gf-guest separately with his food on individual small dishes.

For dessert, I made a flourless chocolate cake using this recipe from allrecipes.com (it's an awesome site for recipes if you don't already know!!!). It's a super rich (& I say SUPER) chocolate cake so you can serve it with some plain old vanilla ice-cream to take the chocolately edge off if you'd like.

Here's an after-dinner photo.....I'm glad to say that the guests seemed happy and that I hadn't screw up big time by causing my gluten-allergic guest to have flare-ups or anything. I have learnt a lot about gf-diet from the preparation of this one meal....while my kitchen won't be going gf anytime soon, I might make some healthy changes to the ingredients that I use in future and perhaps to try to reduce gluten in our diets.

FUN in the SUN! (in Singapore)

2011-09-15T08:06:00.000-07:00

We celebrated National Day (9 August) and also got ourselves caught up in the flurry of excitement in the weeks leading up to the Presidential Election (unfortunately, we left before the election day so I didn't get to vote).

I feel very lucky to be able to celebrate my birthday in Singapore with my families and friends for the past two years.

We checked out some new places as well as revisited old ones!

We just had LOADS of fun!

And it wasn't all play and no work. We did some work on our tiny apartment too.....like putting up new roller blinds, hanging up pictures and a whole lot of cleaning, unpacking and decluttering was carried out too. In the process of unpacking, I found our wedding poster from 10 years ago!!!

We had a fantastic 2 months in Singapore and the below sums it all!

Families and friends in Singapore

2011-09-15T07:24:00.000-07:00

The reason why we go back to Singapore every year is to see our families and friends. It was an extremely fruitful trip this time round and the photos serve to remind us of all the great times we have had in Singapore......not everyone of whom we have met are shown here but we enjoyed every second of all our catching up sessions nevertheless. We love you all and we really look forward to the next time we meet again!

The whole lot of eating that went on in Singapore

2011-09-15T06:53:00.000-07:00

Warning: This post contains very graphic images that could cause serious hunger pangs, insane cravings and bad bouts of homesickness (especially for Singaporeans living overseas).

A random post

2011-09-13T05:54:00.000-07:00

As you can see on our "barometer"....the rope is still intact...which means to say Hurricane Irene had been kind to our little house while we were away. Thank god nothing much had happened apart from fallen trees and other minor property damages due to wind and flood in our little town. A few of my neighbor's trees had fallen in their backyard.The tree guys came to chop up the fallen trees and broken branches with chainsaws....The smaller branches/trunks were mulched using the chipper....it was a very noisy operation!My first bake after the 3 months hiatus was a chicken pie.....think I had stuffed too much filling/soup which caused the pie to "erupt" :P Can't wait to cook and bake much now that I'm back!We got a new blue couch! My landlord said they searched high and low to find one that matches the color of the cushions that I had made for them...haha. The new couch is very comfortable and I've been lounging in it for tooooo much since we got back :)The wrap-around deck also got a fresh coat of white paint...to complement the spanky new grill....NICE!!! My landlord has also put in some new potted plants/flowers all around the deck area and in the backyard. Having to enjoy all these new stuffs without having to pay or lift a finger is absolutely priceless.

People kept asking us to buy our own home 'cos property prices are a historic low right now.....but there's so much benefit to renting beyond dollars and cents. We didn't have to worry about the house during Hurricane Irene 'cos my landlord had taken care of everything like nailing boards on the windows, removing all loose furniture from the deck, taking down unsafe trees etc. Renting is so worry and hassle free....and even more fantastic if you've got a great landlord like mine who's always so on top of things.The Sippican Harbor still looks amazing.....it's like people/things would change but nature (that has been spared from developments/damages) will always be the same forever and ever.Spent Sunday morning floating dreamyly on the platform, listening to the gentle swish-swosh of the sea and feeling the glorious sun on my face. Here by the sea is where I wanna be forever....

I'M BACK!!!

2011-09-08T05:05:00.000-07:00

The reason I have't updated my blog is because we had been away the entire summer...we spent 2 months in Singapore and 2 weeks in Ireland. Now that we are back....there's much unpacking to do, a very empty refrigerator/pantry to stock up, we also need to get over our jetlag and a slight flu that we had picked up in Ireland and basically, we need to get back to the routine as RG has just started his new school term.

At least this time round we needn't have to find another rental in a rush as we have moved back to the same seaside cottage as before. The decision to do so did save us a hell lot of headaches and anxieties.

Once we have unpacked and more settled down...I hope to blog more about the time we spent in Singapore and Ireland and to share with you some photos. I hope your summer had been as good as mine and I wish that we'll have a great fall to come.

I'm happy to be back in the blogsphere and I have so much catching up to do - reading all your past postings over the last 2-3 months!

Shopping is great in US of A!

2011-06-08T08:13:00.001-07:00

For me, there are 5 reasons why I find shopping to be such a wonderful experience here in the states.

SIZE
For a big gal like me (size L12/XL14), there are so much more options available here as compared to back home in SG where sizes tend to run small. I always felt like a big fat clown trying to fit into those ridiculously dainty little tight clothes that seem to work only for runway models when shopping in SG. However, over here, for once I actually feel like a regular size person....and it's so easy to find clothes and lingerie that fit me. I could even find stuffs that fit from the girls' clothing section!

PRICE
I've kinda gotten used to the low prices here that I always baulk at the prices when I try to shop in SG. A fifty-dollar bill will probably get me 1 top in SG but here, I can easily use it to buy 2 pairs of denim jeans, 1 scarf and like 3-4 tops. I used to spend more than SGD100 on a pair of jeans in SG but now, every single pair of the jeans that I've gotten from here cost less than USD10 each....can you believe that? In case you are wondering if the quality is lousy for such low priced items.....I can confidently tell you that they are not. The key to good inexpensive shopping here in the states is to know where to go and what to buy when.

COMFORT
I love the sprawling malls, wide shopping aisles, plentiful and HUGE fitting rooms. One of the reasons why I hated shopping in SG was having to queue for the fitting rooms...especially during sale periods.

EASE OF ONLINE SHOPPING
If you are in no mood to hit the malls.....you can still shop at the click of your mouse! You can find almost anything and everything (new or used) online for purchase 24/7. Your orders can be easily placed online, payment made via credit cards/paypal and the items would arrive on your doorstep within days of your order. I don't understand why online shopping is not a big thing in SG. Considering how expensive SG rents are....running an online store makes so much more financial sense than having a physical store with exorbitant rent that would seriously eat into the profits (end of the day, consumers suffer 'cos the costs would inevitably be passed on).

RETURN POLICY
Ok....I complained about it before....that the return policy in SG sucks. In the states, returning your purchases is like part and parcel of the entire shopping experience. If you had bought something and changed your mind (for whatever reason that you can think of!) and wanna return the item for cash/credit....NO QUESTIONS ASKED!

Like I just bought this top online....it didn't fit so I had to return it. All I had to do was to print a free return shipping label online....fill up a short form to let them know why I'm returning the product....stick the return shipping label on the original packaging....place the item to be returned in the packaging together with the return form and reseal the packaging and send it back to where it came from. Once the returned item has been received, the money gets credited back into my account. Easy does it!

The original packaging that the item was shipped in is reusable and resealable. I think it's really convenient and very thoughtful.

So now you know why I've stopped shopping when I go back home to SG - it's TOO EXPENSIVE and no fun.

Goodbye my friend (for now).....

2011-06-07T09:52:00.000-07:00

We are starting to pack up all of our stuffs. Yesterday, I finished sewing all of our jeans & pants that required alteration....as I think it's about time to pack up the sewing machine, my sewing supplies and fabrics. Today, I opened up the machine to clean and oil it before packing it away.

I also slipped in a small sachet of silica gel to take away any moisture that could possibly cause any rusting to the parts...especially in the humid summer climate.

It's time to say goodbye.....back into the box it went.....

....added another silica gel sachet just to be sure and sealed the box up with tape.

I realised the price tag is still stucked on the box.....so now you know that was what I paid for it (quite a steal huh?!). I've had it since 2009. One of my best investments to date....considering I managed to cover the full cost of it in the first couple hours of my very first yard sale :) It's a very basic easy-to-use machine....and it has served my needs really well.

See you again my friend.....in September! I know I'll be missing you.

Tihonet Village Market

2011-06-06T07:13:00.000-07:00

We headed down to the Tihonet Village Market last Saturday for our regular supply of cranberry chocolates. They are our absolute favorite chocolates....the cranberries are grown locally and the chocolates locally made and packed. Sometimes, fresh farm fruits/vegetables are also available for purchase at the market. It was truly a beautiful day to be out at the cranberry bogs.

Some information about cranberry bog.

We couldn't resist the chocolate bomb at the market cafe....it was awesomely delicious!

Check out the moussey inside..... :P~~~~

These chocolates are our dietary staple.....muahahaha

We are looking forward to the Cranberry Harvest Festival to be held at Tihonet on the 8 & 9 Oct 2011. We attended the one in 2009 and had loads of fun. If you are around the area during the celebration period.....do join in the fun!!

Healthy oven baked crispy chicken chops

2011-06-04T07:53:00.000-07:00

Several people have asked for the oven baked chicken chop recipe.....so here it is! :)

Ingredients:
4 pieces of deboned/skinned chicken thigh (+seasonings)
1/2 cup mayo + 1/2 cup milk (I use no-fat type for both)
1 cup dried bread crumbs (I use panko)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika

Method:
First I seasoned the deboned/skinned chicken thighs with some garlic salt, onion powder and curry powder and leave them in the refrigerator to marinate for a couple of hours.

Then I whisk the mayo and milk together in a bowl.

Next I mix the bread crumbs, garlic powder, salt, black pepper & paprika together in a shallow plate.

Now that all the preparation works have been done, I'd preheat the oven to 350F.

I use one of those disposable broiling foil pans that are not flat at the base. The uneven grooves help cook the chicken better and not cause it to be soggy at the bottom. Best if you've an oven safe cooling rack which you can place over a cookie sheet. That'll allow the chicken to cook nicely and crispy-ly on top and at the bottom.

I'd spray a tiny bit of oil on the pan and coat the whole pan with a brush.

Take a piece of the chicken thighs and dip it in the mayo+milk mixture (shake off the excess). If you find the mayo+milk mixture a little too thick....add a little more milk to dilute it. We want it to help adhere the crumbs...not have the chicken drowned in the mayo-milk mixture :)

Then, coat the chicken thighs with the panko+seasoning mixture and place it on the foil pan. Repeat with the rest of the thighs.

Finally, just pop the pan into the oven for about 60min. Just make sure to check nearer the 1hr mark to see that the panko crumbs aren't burnt.

Feel free to play around with the seasonings for both the chicken seasonings as well as crumb seasonings. You can add whatever you like to your taste. If you prefer more spicy...can add some chilli powder, cayenne pepper, cumin etc. If you prefer more herby, can consider adding thyme, rosemary, parsley etc.

As for the chicken...you can use any parts apart from the thighs - like wings, drumsticks, breasts etc.

Serve the crispy chicken chops with chips, slaw, mashed potatoes, butter rice or even on toasted buns with lettuce (like a Chicken MacCrispy!).

Have fun making it and I hope you'll enjoy the taste of it.

When Calzone meets Curry Puff

2011-06-03T16:58:00.001-07:00

Since we'll be leaving the rental soon....I have to start ridding the fridge of stuffs. I had a tube of frozen biscuit, cheese, frozen meatballs and pasta/curry sauces. And I thought - calzone/curry puff??!

So I microwaved the frozen meatballs and mashed them up real good.....

I chopped up some sweet onion, mushrooms & a large potato (cooked using microwave on POTATO function).

First, add very little oil to a heated pan and fry the onions till translucent. Then, add the mashed meatballs, mushrooms & potatoes and some curry and pasta sauces. I did not add any other seasonings 'cos the sauces already have salt/seasonings in them. Add enough sauces to bring all the ingredients together but not too much such that the ingredients are swimming in the sauces.

Flatten the biscuits into a bigger rounds. You can just use your palm or a rolling pin. Then, add some cheese and some filling in the middle and fold the rolled out pastry in half and press to seal the edges. Place them apart on a baking sheet.

Pop the baking sheet into the preheated oven to bake for 13-15min (or until the biscuits are golden brown) at 375F. I probably didn't seal the pastry properly...so the baked biscuits all ended up with opened "mouths" :P But no harm done....they might look ugly but still taste as good as closed puffs.

Come on now....I know you wanna take a bite!

Our 10th!!!!

2011-06-03T16:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was our 10th wedding anniversary. I was so glad that RG didn't have to go to work and we could spend the entire day together :)

Here's a photo of us taken 10 years ago on our wedding day at the Raffles Hotel. It seems like just yesterday when we exchanged vows at the Registry of Marriage.
We may be different in race, skin color and personality....but I think we complement each other really well and I believe we have both become much better persons because of each other :)

Both of us aren't perfect.....we each have our flaws.....we have our occasional fights and squabbles.... as individuals, we can't accomplish much but as a couple, I feel that we've got a great synergy (defined as two or more things functioning together to produce a result not independently obtainable).

So yesterday, we celebrated the 10th year of our union.

He got me a card and a book in which he penned down some of his thoughts of me.....

It's such a cute book.....one of the bestEST presents I have ever received from him! In the book are questions like this....amongst many others...

There are also multiple choice questions....hahaha......

I on the other hand got him a heart shape decorative wall piece which was made out of recycled tin ceiling. You see.....tin is the traditional gift for 10th anniversary.

Of course, what's a anniversary celebration without a nice homecooked meal by ME! :PPP

I made healthy oven baked chicken chop served with chicken rice and sambal chilli.

Dessert was red bean with glutinous rice balls.....think it signifies "togetherness"?

Well that was it....a simple little celebration of our 10 wonderful years together. Wishing us many many many more 10 years to come my love! :**

xxxoooxxx

Busy as a bee.....

2011-05-31T05:36:00.000-07:00

We are having great weather these days.....warm sunny days with nice sea breezes...and the days are long too with the sun rising before 6am and setting after 8pm. With nice days like these....it just seems a waste to be couped up at home. We have been out enjoying the sunshine quite abit. We have our meals outdoor, have coffee outdoor and even our laptops have moved outdoor with us all thanks to WIFI.

And we can finally open the windows, doors and sliders to let the sea breezes in. It's an amazing feeling....just sitting on the couch or lying in bed and feeling the sea breezes' gentle carasses and smelling the freshness of the ocean. Occasionally, I'd just doze off on the rocking chair to the lullaby of the wind chimes.....ahhhhhhh, life is good.

The Sippican Harbor has been bustling with activities. We see countless sailboats, yachts & kayaks.....everyone is out trying to get a piece of the beautiful sunshine.

The floating docks are back in the water and we've been down there numerous times over the past weeks.

We've been having many friends over for some partying too.

Many shops and eateries have re-opened for spring/summer. Long queues have been seen at the creameries and the fish-and-chips places. Little vegetable/fruit stands have also sprung up.

After so many months of "hibernation".....we are starting to hit the malls (both physical malls as well as online shops!!) again to stock up on summer clothings and accessories :P Love this straw bag that I got from TJMaxx for 12 bucks....it just screams summer to me!

I finally gotten down to altering RG's jeans.....kekeke.....they too have been hibernating in the closet for the last 2 years. I'm a bad wife..... :P

Our air tickets back home to Singapore have been booked (mad expensive!!!). We'll be spending 2 months in SG and another 2 weeks in Ireland on our way back. We are so excited and looking forward to the trips.

Right now.....I have to start packing all our stuffs for storage before we leave here.

Grilled vodka prawns

2011-05-31T04:58:00.000-07:00

We had a cook out on Memorial Day and I made sweet spicy pork chops with grilled vodka prawns. I didn't make sides 'cos we are both sort of on a diet :P

Recipe (for 2):
16 large shrimps shelled & deveined(I used frozen ones)
1 clove garlic (smashed and finely minced)
1/2 tbsp lemon juice (I only had bottled type, you can use fresh squeezed lemon/lime juice)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp citrus vodka
1/2 tbsp "sweet & sour" mixer (or you can just use lemon/lime/orange juice or magarita mixer)
1/2 tbsp parsley flakes (fresh ones are even better)
1/4 tsp paprika
Dash of salt/pepper (to taste)
5-6 bamboo skewers (soak in water for a couple of hours)

Method:
Marinate prawns for an hour
Thread them on skewers
Grill until they turn nice pinkish red and curled up (I put a sheet of aluminium foil over the flame and lightly sprayed with oil before placing the skewered prawns on the foil)

The prawns don't take long to cook. If your flame is very big....you can put the skewers on the side not too near the flames. The bamboo skewers might burn a little....be careful!

Me resting my feet while waiting for the food to cook.

RG had set the table.......

Here's a photo of us all decked in our red, blue and white t-shirts from good'O Navy!

Ice-cream for dessert.......oops, there goes the diet plan! :P

Cellphone pouch.....a special order

2011-05-20T07:58:00.000-07:00

Recently I got to know N through a friend on Facebook. N knows that I sew and had wanted me to custom make a pouch to fit her cellphone. She gave me her cellphone dimensions and picked out her fabric.

And this was what I had come up with based on what she had said she wanted. As it was the first time I was making a cellphone pouch....it took me numerous attempts before getting it right. Also, it didn't help that the brocade fabric was super difficult to handle as it frays like crazy and puckers easily too. Anyhow, I finally managed to make something decent looking and mailed it to N who lives on the west coast. I'm just glad N likes it.

The photos are courtesy of N as I had forgotten to do so in the rush to get the pouch out to N. Don't you just love her bling-bling phone?!

Spring 2011

2011-05-20T07:17:00.001-07:00

It has been raining a lot lately.....the plants are all happy. Each time the rain stops....I'd venture out into our yard to take some photos of the rain drenched leaves and flowers.

No matter where you are and which season you are in right now.....I hope my photos will bring you the beauty and freshness of spring!

Old and new friends.....

2011-05-19T18:47:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, RG invited his colleagues over for lunch.

My friend P (who was my ex-colleague) also dropped by for a short visit. She flew in to Boston from North Carolina where she was attending her sister's graduation. I made clam chowder and pulled pork burgers for P and her friend.

We were giggling like little gals.....I was really happy to see P and we had a fun time eating, chatting and taking silly photos.

We also checked out the boardwalk near my place......

P introduced me to her friend PY who's currently working near Boston. Always nice to have more friends! PY is such great fun to be with.

Chicken satay

2011-05-13T17:48:00.000-07:00

Ingredients (Serving size - 80pax):

60 pieces of chicken thighs
2 cups of soy sauce
2 cups of ketchup
2/3 cups peanut oil
1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
Garlic powder (15 pinches)
Black pepper (10 pinches)
Ground cumin (10 pinches)

Method:

I had bought the bone-in chicken thighs 'cos they were on sale at $0.99/lb. You might want to buy the boneless ones if you don't want to have to de-bone them on your own.

Remove the skin and bones with a sharp knife. I tossed out the skin but kept the bones to make some chicken stock later.

Cut the chicken thighs into smaller bite-size pieces and marinate the meat with the above ingredients before leaving it to chill in the fridge overnight.

The traditional way of making satay is to skewer the marinated meat pieces using bamboo sticks and then grill the meat sticks over some burning charcoal. However, to save time and to make my job easier.....I decided to cook the chicken pieces in the oven without the skewers.

I made some holes on the disposable aluminium trays so as to allow the meat juices to drain away as I had wanted to achieve a drier meat texture like that of BBQ-ing over a flame.

After spreading the chicken pieces out evenly on the tray, I placed the smaller "holey" trays over a big tray to catch the drips. I baked the chicken pieces for about 35-40minutes in 350F.

The drip tray managed to catch all the meat juices....and the chicken pieces got cooked nicely.

I made a peanut sauce to go with the chicken satay but I had forgotten to take a photo of it as I was rushing to pack everything for RG's party.

I also prepared some sticky rice and cucumber pieces to go with the satay.

According to RG, the chicken satay was the first dish amongst all others to run out.....I take that as a good sign.

New pillow covers

2011-05-09T09:05:00.001-07:00

Today, I decided to make some new covers for my landlord's existing pillows. Since it's a seaside house, I naturally went for the marine-theme when picking out the fabric. I got these beautiful fabric panels for a great price from a seller on etsy.

There are different prints on each panel. I added a zipper so that I/my landlord can remove the covers & toss them into the washer for cleaning whenever necessary.

The colors on the panels go quite nicely with my landlord's furniture. I hope he likes them when he returns this summer.

Arghhhhhh.......vinyl problems! (Recycled Reese's wrapper coupon pouch)

2011-05-06T07:00:00.000-07:00

I was totally frustrated this morning while sewing another vinyl pouch. I had used the 20-gauge vinyl (vinyl on the front and back for each sheet of recycled wrapper). The sewing part was easy peasy....I usually sew it the way I'd using regular fabrics (sew on the wrong side of fabric and then flip out to the right side).

The cutting/sewing took me altogether 10min the most and I spent another HOUR(!!!) trying to flip it out......geez. In the process, I poked myself in one of my fingers till it bled and I also broke a nail. And despite all my efforts.....the corners still looked like these.......

I tried various things like rounded the corners and made small V-cuts on the rounded corners, I also applied talcum powder on the vinyl so that it doesn't stick.....but still it's super duper hard to make the corners look nice. Anyone with tips for me please??? I'd be eternally grateful. My last resort would be to redesign the pouches or perhaps sew on the outside such that I don't have to do any flipping. But I really prefer a cleaner look with stitches on the inside. So HELP!!!!

Anyway, here's how it turned out. I like the see-through part!

And despite the ugly corners....the pouch still works in all the ways that I have wanted it to...so I can't really say I'm not happy with it :P

Chicken mushroom pot pie

2011-05-03T10:53:00.001-07:00

Pot pie.....one of those easy 1-dish meals. I make it occasionally in an attempt to "get rid" of leftovers in the fridge....and it's super easy and yummy!

This round.....I used up the remaining of my rotisserie chicken, water chestnuts, mushrooms, onion & frozen mixed vegetables that had been lurking in my fridge for awhile. It's not hard to substitute any of these items. You can use ham, leftover turkey, minced meat, potatoes, carrots, squash, peppers etc.

And you'll need a liquid base to marry with the ingredients. I used a packet of chicken gravy (add water/stock and boil), some onion soup mix and then thicken with a couple spoons of cornflour. Or even canned chicken/mushroom soups can work as well.

You can make your own pie crusts but I just used my trusted Pillsbury crusts that fit my pie pan perfectly.

Oh, and I like to plan my cooking such that I can cook several things at the same time to save on electricity. Here, I have a big pot of chicken stock, some corn and my pot pie all baking happily together! :P

After slightly over an hour......my pot pie is ready!!! You can cover the pie edge with aluminium foil if it's browning too fast. I cut little slits on the top pie crust to allow air to vent. It's also advisable to place the pan on a baking sheet in case the gravy in the pie bubbles over.

Cut a huge slice and slowly enjoy the oozy yummy goodness.

Ngoh hiang

2011-05-02T16:32:00.000-07:00

Finally made some ngoh hiang using the beancurd skin that my parents had sent me.

Apart from minced pork, I also added some prawns, water chestnut, carrots, garlic & spring onion.

As for seasonings, I used five spice powder, white pepper, soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic powder, cornflour, sugar, egg & salt.

The beancurd skins were a little brittle...perhaps 'cos they were dried out as I had kept them in the fridge. I used a piece of clean moist paper towel to lightly dab all over the skin to moisten it. The last time I made ngoh hiang....I had ran the beancurd skin under the tap and that was a BAD IDEA 'cos the skin kinda disintegrated like a piece of wet tissue paper! haha

You can cut the large beancurd skin into any sizes depending on how big or small you like your ngoh hiang.

Place the meat mixture at one end of the beancurd skin and roll it up like a popiah. Don't try to stuff it with too much filling otherwise it might break apart.

I like to steam my ngoh hiangs to cook them first. Some people would just fry them directly without steaming. I'm always worried about the beancurd skin getting burnt before the meat filling gets cooked. By steaming it first, the filling is already cooked and so you need only to fry it briefly to brown and crisp the beancurd skin when you are ready to eat them. I made a huge batch (for economies of scale) so that I can freeze some until when I'm ready to fry them.

I fried a small batch for dinner tonight to go with rice and curry chicken......hmmmmmmm....

My favorite way of eating the ngoh hiang is to dip it in sweet sauce......BEST!!!

Fritos zipper purse (recycled wrappers)

2011-05-01T11:56:00.000-07:00

I couldn't wait to try out the teflon presser foot on an actual piece of sewn work.

My first project with the teflon foot was this Fritos zipper purse using recycled Fritos chips wrapper and 12-gauge vinyl.

I cut the chips bag into 2 halves and used the Fritos logo part (top) on one side of the purse and the picture part (bottom) on the other side of the purse.

My favorite Fritos flavor!!!!!

If you want to know the nutritional value of the fritos chips...please look inside the purse...haha :P

The exterior and interior of the purse have all been lined with vinyl. This could work well as a wet bag to hold diapers and wet swimsuits if it had been bigger. Will try to collect those super-size chip wrappers (just an excuse to eat more chips really!) to make into larger size wet bags.

This fritos purse is just the right size to hold my cellphone, tissue paper and wet wipes! And one more wrapper saved from the landfill.

A quick laksa

2011-04-30T18:37:00.001-07:00

This was our dinner tonight. The soup base tasted almost as good as what you get at Katong Laksa! It took me less than 20min to cook it and it was all thanks to........

.......Tean's Curry Laksa paste!!! The instructions are short and simple - add 1.5L of water to the paste and bring to a boil.

While soup is boiling....add dried tofu puffs and cook till soft.

Add approx 150ml of coconut cream and reduce heat to let the soup simmer.

Your laksa soup base is now done (yes, it's quite spicy!).

While the soup is boiling, cut the fish cake into thin slices.

Blanch the beansprouts in hot water to cook them slightly.

I bought this dried thick bee hoon that kinda resembles the laksa noodles.

Boil the noodles till soft.

Drain the noodles and put into a bowl. Add beansprouts, fish cake and then pour the hot soup (with tofu puffs) over the noodles and serve hot.

Slurp loudly!! :P~

No more sticky mess!!! (Teflon roller presser foot )

2011-04-29T08:58:00.000-07:00

I was having a hell of a time trying to sew on vinyl with my regular presser foot. Then I learned to put paper over vinyl when sewing....but that too was a mess as little bits of paper kept getting stuck below the stitches.

So I bought the teflon roller foot...again from ebay.

It's amazing how this little thing can take away all my blood, sweat and tears when sewing on vinyl before. I tried the foot on my SUPER sticky clear vinyl and it was a breeze!!!

Stitches were nice and even. And not once did the vinyl get stuck on the presser foot.

LOVE IT!!! A must-have presser foot for all those who work with vinyl, leather and any sorts of "sticky" fabrics/materials.

How to attach ruffler foot on Brother sewing machine LS-2125

2011-04-29T08:22:00.001-07:00

So I bought the ruffler foot (for low shank machines) to fit my Brother LS-2125 machine from a seller on ebay.

Took me awhile of fiddling around before finally figuring out how to attach the ruffler foot.

Here's a pictorial tutorial on how to attach the ruffler foot....so that you don't have to kill your braincells over it like I did :P

If you have the LS-2125 machine like I do, you should first remove your sewing needle and presser foot.

Next, unscrew the "foot catch".

Here's what it'd look like after you've unscrewed and removed the foot catch.

Now see this "U" part of the ruffler foot......
.....hook the U-part onto your needle clamp.....
....and for this part of the ruffler foot......
.....fit it over here.
So here's how your ruffler foot should fit on your LS-2125 machine.
Place the screw back and tighten it in place.

Attach your needle back, make sure it feeds nicely into the needle plate and then start ruffling away!!!

I tried ruffling on a thicker fabric like this one (fabric for men's coat).....it worked.

And then, I ruffled on this really thin tshirt fabric.....worked too!

I'm now officially....a ruffler! :P

Rojak post.....

2011-04-27T08:57:00.001-07:00

The bambis have been coming almost everyday....sometimes twice in a day.

This little fatty is one of my neighbor's cats. She loves to roam the neighborhood and pounce on herons that are twice her size :P

Here's her sneaking around amongst the reeds. She's quite fun to watch.

The forsythia in the front yard is looking oh-so-pretty!!!

My fabric stash is growing and growING and GROWING......and not to mention the gigantic heaps of old clothings and other materials that I'm keeping for repurposing!

I store my fabrics in huge plastic containers and a fabric holder that I've sewn (but not completed if you notice all the frayings at the edges!). And I still have more fabrics back home in Singapore. If we have our own house, I'd wish for my own sewing room with lots of shelvings/drawers for fabrics *dream*

RG and I love to eat porridge with dishes. Here's what our typical porridge meal looks like! *slurp*

Bambis in my backyard

2011-04-26T11:25:00.001-07:00

I have been seeing this group of 4 bambis feeding in my backyard. The other day, they came in the late afternoon just before sunset but today, they were here early in the morning for their breakfast feed.

I usually try not to startle them by avoiding big sudden movements or loud noises...otherwise, they'd start darting away very fast.

Today, I opened the sliders and started coo-ing like I usually do at little dogs and kitties. The bambis heard me, looked at me and then went back to eating whatever they were eating without moving an inch. It seemed like my coo-ing worked in making the bambis less nervous around me :)

On a side note, the temperatures have been inching up everyday. New leaves are starting to sprout, the forsythias are looking beautiful and the lawn is looking greener. Soon, it'll be time to open up all the windows and sliders to let the seabreeze into the house. I can't wait!

Me, machine & the view

2011-04-24T15:52:00.000-07:00

RG snuck up on me while I was sewing and took this photo of me looking a little dishevelled and wearing my unglam sweater. Anyway, there's my little sewing corner and that's my sewing machine. I managed to crop out from the photo all the messy piles of fabrics that were lying around on the floor! :P

And here's the view from my sewing nook.....soon the bare branches will once again be covered with lush green leaves. It's nice to raise my head once in awhile from what I'm doing at the sewing machine to look into the distant sky/sea and watch the trees sway gently from side to side whenever the wind blows.

Exchange students

2011-04-24T14:22:00.000-07:00

I was asked to join RG and his colleagues in hosting a bunch of exchange students from Shanghai for lunch yesterday. RG drove all the 9 of us in the school's van to Boston Chinatown. It was raining but we were all looking forward to some yummy dim sum. The chinese kids have not had a decent chinese meal since they've arrived in the states a couple of months ago.

We brought them to the very popular China Pearl restaurant at Tyler Street. The place was PACKED with asians as well as americans at lunch hour. The kids looked like they could eat a lot so we just grabbed a few plates of everything off the dim sum carts that came by our table. There was so much food and we all got to try a little of everything.

I took a photo of them totally engrossed in the food! :P

After lunch, we brought them to a nearby chinese grocery shop where they shopped to their hearts' content. I noticed that they were buying all sorts of tidbits, cookies and candies. Of course, I also took the opportunity to do my own grocery shopping. I bought vegetables, noodles, sauces, dried goods, century eggs and a whole lot of other stuffs. Everything came up to 2 big bags full! I also popped by the chinese bakery to pick up some lotus paste & red bean mooncakes and char siew polo buns for RG.

On our way back from Boston, we stopped over in Plymouth for some nice coffees at Panera. We had a really nice chat with the kids. They were telling us about the education system, work opportunities and life in general in China. The kids are all 20 years of age....while they do appear quite mature, they are afterall still quite young and would occasionally say the darndest things to crack us up. Everyone had a great time.

Satisfying my crave for ban mian......

2011-04-24T14:00:00.001-07:00

Bought some noodles from a chinese grocery shop in Boston yesterday and decided to make some ban mian for lunch today 'cos I miss eating it SO MUCH!

I used 1 rotisserie chicken carcass, handful of ikan bilis, salt, sesame oil, parsley flakes, chive flakes and several bowls of water to make this huge pot of soup stock (2.5hrs in the 300F oven).

I didn't have minced pork so I used mashed meatballs instead!! haha. Actually, it turned out to be a good thing 'cos the soup didn't have that porky taste. I also added some chye sim, mushroom, fishcake & egg to the noodles.

Below is the thin noodles that I had bought for USD1.29. One packet is good enough for 4-5 persons.

Here's my piping hot bowl of ban mian (actually, it's you-mian!). I didn't add more ikan bilis 'cos I don't really like to eat them...I just like the smell/taste of ikan bilis in the soup.

I don't normally drink up the soup bases of those ban mians that I buy from the SG food stalls 'cos I find that the soups are often ladened with MSG....but mine isn't so I slurped it to the very last drop.

Now, that's what I call a very satisfying meal!!!

Atlantic Coast Roadtrip, Day 1-6 : Princeton (NJ), Arlington (VA) & Washington D.C. (DC)

2011-04-22T03:59:00.000-07:00

We finally set off for our month-long roadtrip down the Atlantic Coast on the 15 Jan 2011.

We decided to track our mileage for the entire trip. We had started off at the 17,464-mile mark.

From our home in Southern Massachusetts, we drove past Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York without stopping. The very first stop of our trip was Princeton (NJ) and it took us slightly less than 5 hours to reach. After we had checked into Hampton Inn Princeton, we had a very quick lunch before joining the Princeton campus tour which was at 2.45pm.

Below are some of the sights during the 1.5hr walking tour around the campus.

On day 2, we spent the earlier part of the morning exploring the Princeton campus district where we saw many interesting sculptures and monuments.

We started heading towards Arlington (VA) before noon time on I-95.

When we reached Delaware, we decided to drop by the Delaware Tourist Info Center which is located on I-95 for lunch, refuel and to grab some maps/brochures.

By the time we reached our hotel (Hilton Garden Inn Arlington), it was already getting dark and we were a little tired. So we decided to just grab dinner at the nearby Ray's Hell Burger before turning in for the night.

We figured if Ray's burgers were fit for President Obama and the Russian President Medvedev, they should be really quite good.....and indeed they were tasty and very reasonably priced too! The sweet potato fries were especially addictive. The portions, as you can see, were HUGE. We both weren't able to finish our burgers.

On day 3, we left our car in the hotel and took the subway to Washington DC so that we don't have to worry about parking and being stuck in traffic. We spent the entire day walking around the National Mall and the memorial parks.

We also visited The Old Post Office Pavilion as we read that it's a good place to have a bird's eye view of the area from the Observation Deck.

Well actually, even the interior of the Old Post Office is a sight on its own!!

From the 270-ft Observation deck, we had nice views of the US Capitol and the Washington Monument.

A kind tourist helped to take a photo of me and RG.....the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool are in the background.

Since we didn't make an advanced request to tour the White House, we decided to just drop by the White House Visitor's Center to view photos of the White House as well as learn more about its history through the exhibits.

Of course, how can a trip to DC not involve taking a photo of the White House.

Right outside the White House, we saw people picketing for various causes.

We also saw the Obama motorcade!!!

Lincoln Memorial
Korean War Veterans Memorial
Sad but so true!

The Three Soldiers - Vietnam Veterans Memorial

War World II Memorial

We spent Day 4 exploring Arlington (VA). Despite the lousy weather (we had an icy storm the night before!), we stuck with our plan to visit the Arboretum.

To our surprise, the ice covered plants actually looked very beautiful!!

We also visited the Arlington National Cemetery.

Eternal flame at the grave of JFK.

Iwo-Jima Memorial

We were back in DC on day 5 to visit some of the national sights and museums. Our first stop for the day was the Library of Congress. It is such a magnificent building and a true piece of art!

We also made a stop at the Supreme Court.

Again, as we hadn't made an advance request to visit the US Capitol, we could only tour the surrounding grounds and took pictures of the building.

There were many people picketing (health care issue) right outside the US Capitol.

Next up was the US Botanic Garden.

It was amazing to see a "rainforest" within the building!

Ulysses S Grant Memorial

RG wanted to visit the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and so we did. We also watched the Legends of the Flight on 3D at the museum's IMAX.

By the time we were done at the Air and Space Museum, it was already quite late. While strolling through the park to get to our subway station, a brave little squirrel came up to us to say "hi"!

We managed to capture some of the pretty night scenaries with our cameras. Below is the silhouette of the Smithsonian Castle.

The sun setting behind the Washington Monument.

We chose to visit the Newseum on our last day (Day 6) in DC. Unlike most of the other DC museums that are free admissions, there's an entrance fee of USD21.95 (+tax) to visit Newseum. However, we figured it would be well worth our money.

The exhibits and shows turned out GREAT!!!

The below is a portion of the antenna on one of the twin towers.

The belongings of a reporter who was killed in 911 while trying to photograph the twin towers after the planes crashed into the towers.

Photos of a truck that reporters had used while covering stories in a war zone...the black dots are bullet holes!

All the reporters who had died while on their job.

There were exhibits that we could touch and play around with.

Here's a game where you try to take the best photograph that can capture the essence of the headline story. Here's my photograph (on the right)....not bad huh?! It was all great fun!

You can also try your hand at news reporting! No....we didn't try....we were too shy :P

I really enjoyed the Pulitzer Photograph Exhibition.

Hee hee.......a girl can dream right?!!

One of the exhibits is a huge World Press Freedom map...and it depicts the level of "freedom of press" in each country.

And here's how Singapore fare in the rating.....NOT FREE! haha

On level 6 of Newseum is an outdoor terrace where you could get very nice views of the US Capitol and the surroundings.

We also got to watch informative and tear-jerking documentaries on the Holocaust and Katrina. I must say my money was very well-spent at the Newseum and I'd recommend everyone to visit it if you have the chance.

After leaving the Newseum, we headed over to the National Gallery of Art which is just opposite the Newseum.

And with that, we ended day 6 of our tour in DC.

Zipper pouch from recycled Reese wrapper

2011-04-21T16:10:00.001-07:00

I was loving the recycled Reese wrapper concept and decided to make a little zipper pouch today. I cut 2 Reese's logo out from 2 wrappers and then sandwiched each wrapper logo between 2 sheets of vinyl (cut in the exact shape).

I used an orange color zipper to match my wrapper!

It turned out to be so yummily cute! It can hold my change, cards and even my cellphone.

I would totally add a keyring to the pouch if I had one.....then I can swing this little thing around my finger.

Luggage tag from recycled Reese's wrapper

2011-04-20T14:43:00.000-07:00

My blue suitcase is a very common one and I just hate it when I keep picking up someone else's suitcases at the conveyor belt 'cos theirs look so similar to mine.

I decided to make a bright orange big luggage tag so that I can spot my suitcase even from a mile away.

I sandwiched a Reese wrapper (which screams "ME!" 'cos Reese is my favorite peanut butter chocolate!!!) between 2 sheets of transparent vinyl, added a pink ribbon and sewed all around the edges. I also added a vinyl pocket to hold a name card or address label.

Here I'm just using RG's bag to "model" my luggage tag.

Maple banana chocolate-chip loaf cake recipe

2011-04-18T11:42:00.000-07:00

I was drooling over Charmaine's banana cake the other day, so I followed the link that she had provided to Retromommy's blog for the cake recipe. And all thanks to this two fabulous ladies, I've now got a yummy loaf of banana cake sitting very temptingly on my dining table....waiting to be gobbled up during our afternoon tea session.

I'm reproducing Retromommy's recipe with some slight modifications to suit our tastes:

Oops....just realised that two ingredients were missing in the photo!

Anyway, the ingredients/measurements are:

- 2 large ripe mashed bananas
- 1 stick + 1 tbsp of butter (melted)
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp non-fat milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 4/5 cup of fine sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
- 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips (coated with 1/2 tsp of flour)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 340F.
Combine butter, maple syrup, milk, eggs, sugar & vanilla essence together in a large mixing bowl.
Stir in mashed bananas.
Sift flour and baking powder into the wet mix and fold till well-mixed.
Stir in the flour coated chocolate chips and mix well.
Line the loaf pan with parchment paper.
Pour in the batter and smoothen the surface.
Place pan in the oven (middle rack) to bake for 1hr or until a toothpick inserted into the cake center comes out clean.

This cake is so easy to make and it tastes really light, fluffy and kinda crumbly. This recipe definitely goes into my "Bake-again-and-again" category!

NOTES: I like to lightly coat the chocolate chips with a little bit of flour so that the chips don't sink to the bottom of the cake. If the top of your cake is browning too soon, cover the cake with a sheet of aluminium foil to prevent the top from burning before the entire cake is cooked. Do not over-bake the cake if you prefer a moist texture (an inserted toothpick would come out with little moist crumbs instead of completely clean).

Pork chop with mushroom gravy

2011-04-14T06:38:00.000-07:00

Not exactly the healthiest meal but it's easy to throw together for a crazy/lazy mid-week dinner. I used low fat/sodium ingredients to make it less unhealthy.

Ingredients:
- 1 can of reduced fat/sodium cream of mushroom soup
- 1/2 packet of onion soup mix
- 1/3 - 1/2 can of low-sodium chicken/beef broth (or just water or even milk)
- a handful of sliced mushrooms
- 1 onion cut into thin strips
- 3-4 slices of pork chops (mine were 1/2" thick)
- seasonings (your choice. I used garlic powder, paprika, parsley flakes, chives)

Method:
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Combine all the ingredients (except pork chops) in a mixing bowl
- Brown pork chops on a grill pan at high heat for a couple of minutes (do not overcook)
- Place pork chops in a baking dish and spread the liquid mixture on top of the chops
- Bake in the oven for 50-60min

You can serve the chops with the mushroom gravy on rice, pasta or mashed potatoes.....or with just a salad or chips on the side.

Raincoat turned document bag

2011-04-11T16:42:00.000-07:00

I had promised RG that I'll sew him a document bag awhile ago.......and it had been long overdue! Feeling really bad about the fact that he had to remind me. about it....I spent the last couple of days trying to get it done. It took much longer than I expected due to some "technical difficulties" :P But it's finally finished.

I wanted to use a water-resistant fabric for the bag due to the very snowy/rainy weather in New England.....which I didn't have of course. So I decided to "sacrifice" my USD4 raincoat that I had bought from Sears during a sale which I hadn't been wearing 'cos it didn't have a hood.

And here's what is left of the raincoat........haha. I had used most of the fabric including the raincoat lining. The sleeves were used to make the bag straps.

Well.....here's the final product! *phew* It sure was hell trying to sew through layers of the raincoat fabric+lining. The raincoat fabric (whatever it is!!??) was slippery and tricky to handle. I also had some trouble with the bag closure. There was a lot of sewing, ripping & resewing. The reclaimed raincoat fabric had stitch holes in some parts after I had unpicked it apart.....so I used a grey suit fabric to "strategically" cover the damaged parts. I thought the grey suit fabric is a nice addition as it makes the bag look a little less casual. I had also reclaimed the raincoat pockets for use as pockets for RG to store his little stuffs like namecards, thumb drive, cellphone, lozenges etc.

It's not a huge document bag but it should be able to fit at least 3 ring binders as well as some books.

I had conveniently used the raincoat lining as the bag lining. The stitches are visible on the inside but I kind of like the "raw" feel.

Ok, now that I look at the bag again.....I realise I've made something that I'd totally carry......but not sure if it's to RG's taste too?? :P

Oh well.....too late now....I hope he likes it....or I'd have to make another one *gasp*

Lunchbox Recipe - Broccoli salad

2011-04-07T17:06:00.001-07:00

Today's lunchbox side is a broccoli salad. I know many people will go "eeewwwww"....but it's actually quite tasty even though I'm not such a big broccoli fan myself.

The ingredients are broccoli, bacon, asparagus, carrots, walnuts, raisins, fat-free sour cream, fat-free mayo, apple cider vinegar and sugar.

I blanched the broccoli in boiling water for a couple of minutes and then drained them. This is to remove the "strange" taste/smell of the broccoli. But if you don't mind it, you could just chop up the broccoli and use it raw. I've tried using frozen broccoli to make this salad before....I think it doesn't taste as good as fresh broccoli but it'd still work.

I cut up a few slices of low-sodium bacon into tiny strips and fried them till crispy. I placed the cooked bacon strips on a piece of kitchen towel to remove the grease.

Asparagus were on sale recently and I bought a bunch of them. I decided to add it to my broccoli salad for an "extra" kick.

To give the asparagus a little more flavor.....I stir-fried them quickly in the bacon fat and then placed them on a kitchen towel to remove the excess grease.

The assembly of the salad, as usual, is super easy. Dump everything together in a large mixing bowl! Slowly add in the sour cream & mayo & apple cider vinegar & sugar....a couple teaspoons at a time....all the while tasting it as you gradually add your seasonings...until you've achieved the taste that you like.

I prefer to make this salad and leave it overnight so that the taste is "less sharp". Sometimes, I'd add a little bit of chopped onions to it.....and chopped onions really taste much better when marinated in the dressing overnight. Otherwise, it'd taste wayyyy too "onion-y"....if you know what I mean :P

Retro bolster bag

2011-04-06T13:20:00.001-07:00

I decided this morning that I needed a new bag for spring!!

The good thing about knowing how to sew is that I can change my bag whenever I please.....without hurting my pockets.

I like bags that are not the usual shape/size - in fact, the stranger they look....the better.

Using the retro fabric (upholstery material) that I had used previously for XY's apron......I made this long & narrow "bolster" bag with long straps. The straps are long enough for me to carry it like a backpack too.

Here's how it looks from the side......really looks like a bolster huh? Makes me wanna hug it tightly and go to zzzzzzzzzzz......

As the material is very heavy and looks the same on both sides....I decided not to line the bag. But I did sew a thin bias tape all around the edges of the fabric to prevent it from fraying. The tape does give it a neat finished look.

Yeay to my new bag!

Steamed sago red bean kueh

2011-04-04T13:33:00.000-07:00

I had some leftover red bean paste after making the baos and was searching on the internet for something else to make when I chanced upon this steamed tapioca red bean cake recipe at Christine's blog.

As I only had very little red bean paste left, I had to half the ingredients as stated in Christine's recipe. For those of you who can't read Chinese, I'm providing the English translation of Christine's recipe (but using my reduced measurements):

Ingredients
- 100g tapioca pearls
- 42g of fine sugar
- 1/2 tbsp of vegetable oil (in Christine's recipe, she used olive oil)
- 75g red bean paste

Method
- Soak tapioca pearls in water for an hour and drain till very dry (I used kitchen towels to blot off excess moisture)
- Add sugar and oil to the tapioca pearls and stir till well mixed
- Using a non-stick muffin pan (in my case, I used mini foil cupcake liners), place a spoonful of the tapioca pearls at the bottom of each muffin hole to start.
- Next, place a spoonful of the red bean paste over the bottom layer of tapioca pearls.
- Then, cover the bean paste with another spoonful of the tapioca pearls.
- Steam for 25-30min or until tapioca pearls appear translucent.
- Cool and serve

Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator. The kuehs will hardened and turned more opaque. When you feel like eating them, you need only to remove the kuehs from the foil liners and pop them into the microwave oven for approximately 1 minute using the DEFROST function...and the kuehs will become translucent , soft and gooey once again!

This is the small tapioca pearls that I had used.

Oops......too many spoons spoil the picture!!!

Layering the bottom of the foil liners with tapioca pearls......

....and then adding the red bean paste filling before topping it off with more tapioca pearls.

Notice how the tapioca pearls turned very translucent after all the steaming?

The texture is very sticky and a little gooey but the kueh would be able to hold its shape even when the foil is removed.

Take a big chewy bite and enjoy this very refreshing dessert.

Hmmmm......if you ask me how it tastes like.....well, it's kind of a red bean mochi-meets-konnyaku texture! It's my new FAVORITE dessert (all thanks to Christine!)......really really nice....I hope you'll try it too one of these days.

Lunchbox Recipe - Pulled pork omelette

2011-04-01T09:12:00.001-07:00

I made a "quick fix" pulled pork omelette for RG's sandwich today. Ingredients are just eggs + pulled pork (salt/pepper/other seasonings if you so wish).

Crack the eggs and beat with fork. Add in pulled pork and mix well. Heat pan on stove and fry till cooked on both sides. If you prefer something fancier.....you can add chopped onions/bell peppers/cheese/mushrooms/tomatoes etc. You can use tuna/salmon/mashed potatoes/spam/ham if you don't have pulled pork. It can't get any easier than this.

Today's lunchbox sides are bite-size hush browns, cucumber strips, apple salad & sponge cake.

Of pots and pans......

2011-04-01T08:04:00.001-07:00

I used to think that cooking utensils are not instrumental to the taste/texture of the cooking.

However, after using my 5-qt cast iron dutch oven and 9 1/4" cast iron grill pan (both from Cuisinart, purchased at HUGE discounts!) all these months, I now realised that the pot/pan that you use does indeed make or break a dish.

I'm totally a cast iron ware convert now. Cast iron wares are able to distribute heat very evenly and you can move the cast iron ware from stove to oven without worrying about the high oven heat melting anything.

Food cook so much better in these cast iron pots/pans. For example, I used to cook my steaks on a regular teflon stainless steel grill pan....and no matter how I hard I tried, the steaks were usually tough and not as juicy on the inside as they should be. But with my cuisinart cast iron grill pan, the steaks will turn out nice on the outside (with beautiful grill marks) and ohhhhh-so-tender on the inside!!

Roasting/stewing/baking/making soup with my 5-qt dutch oven also yields similar results!

I know these cast iron pots and pans cost an arm and leg in Singapore. (the last I checked, one 5-qt or bigger pot is over SGD400!!!)....so I'm seriously considering if I should lug a few of these back in my suitcase. The only "minus" of cast iron wares is that they are mad heavy!!!

My 9 1/4" grill pan.....a little scruffy looking but works miracles!!!!

My beloved 5-qt dutch oven that I use practically for everything and anything....on the stove as well as in the oven!!!

I'm so herb-ppy

2011-04-01T07:50:00.000-07:00

KJ knew that I wasn't feeling in the best of health recently (I got a flu, no thanks to the winter cold in New England!) and took the trouble to go hunt for some chinese herbs to buy and have them mailed to me.....absolutely sweeeeeeeeeet and thoughtful of her. Thanks. You know I love you :P

On the side note, I noticed recently that the parcels have all been opened up at the US customs for checking. So for those of you who are planning to mail me stuffs (a gal can wish right?!!! :P).....please take note not to mail anything weird like pig's head, cow's tongue, crocodile's penis or stuffs like that. No meat stuffs allowed - processed or raw.

White fluffy baos......(steamed chinese buns)

2011-03-31T06:40:00.000-07:00

I miss being able to walk to the nearby kopitiam to buy hot steaming baos anytime of the day.....sometimes 24/7 at those 24hr shops.

While baos aren't uncommon in the chinatowns of bigger US cities......they are definitely as rare as the blue unicorn over here in my little town.

Unfortunately, my recent bao craving was too hard to ignore.....so I got my hands (& kitchen) dirty in making those little white fluffy balls.

I bought the bao flour online from Asiansupermarket365 and it yielded A LOT.......too much actually. I should've made just half of it but I didn't realise that until it was too late. Anyway, I had wrapped the leftover dough in shrink wrap and kept it in the fridge for later. I hope it'll keep well *cross fingers*

As it was my first time making the baos, I did have some difficulties making the dough by hand (arms were aching after that!). I also was not able to wrap the fillings nicely in the dough (maybe I was too greedy with the large amounts of fillings...hee hee). The dough was thicker at the part where I pinched the dough together to enclose the filling :P

Anyway, below are the steamed baos....notice how the bao skin ain't very smooth but looks like got "cellulite"....haha.

I put 2 types of filling in the baos.....one of them my favorite red bean paste which I had made from the azuki beans last week and left to chill in the refrigerator....

......see what I meant by me being too greedy with the filling :D

Ideally, I'd love some char siew filling baos....but since I didn't have char siew, I used some of my pulled pork to make "southern baos" (pulled pork being a traditional southern dish)!!

It actually turned out pretty well and I really like the taste of it......it tastes almost like kong bak bao which is my other favorite!!

I only used like half of the dough.....and I made almost 40 small baos!! I kept half of the baos in freezer bags and placed them in the freezer. The other half will go towards stuffing our faces over the next couple of days :O

While the baos didn't turn out very pretty with all the bumpy skins.....they do taste yummy and pretty close to what we can get in SG. So I'm happy and my tummy very satisfied.

Lunchbox Recipe - Pulled pork tortilla

2011-03-29T12:40:00.000-07:00

Today's lunchbox menu is pulled pork tortilla, corn chips, butter greens & strawberry+mango salad.

I had been wanting to make pulled pork for a very long time........finally, a few days ago, I bought a 2.6lb of pork shoulder at the supermarket.

The traditional way of making pulled pork is to give the pork a dry-rub with lotsa seasonings....marinate it overnight (some people would steep it overnight in some kind of a homemade brine) and then slowly roast the pork over the grill for 6-10hours before pulling the meat chunk into tiny shreds.

Now I obviously am NOT gonna spend half my life over the grill......so I derived a cheat's way of making pulled pork. Please note that it might not taste truly "authentic" but considering the minimal effort/time....it does still kick a mighty taste punch!

First, I made some stabs with my small knife all over the pork shoulder. This is to let the seasonings get into the pork while marinating/cooking. I applied a dry rub of cumin powder, garlic powder & salt all over the meat and allow it to marinate in the refrigerator for about 3-4 hours.

I preheated my oven (convection function) to 275F. I placed the marinated pork in my cast iron pot, poured some diet coke (aprox 1/4 of the big bottle) into the pot (I like to cook/marinate my meats with diet sodas because the meats always turn out very tender)....covered with the cast iron lid and popped it into the oven for 2.5-3hours (flipping the pork over once midway through baking).

2.5-3hours later......I took out the pork (do not turn off the oven at this point) and placed it in a big mixing bowl. Using 2 forks, I shredded the meat chunk quickly.

I drained most of the liquid in the cast iron pot (be careful, it's HOT!) but kept approx 1-1.5 cup in which I added about 1/3 bottle of my honey BBQ sauce, a couple tablespoons of kecap manis & a dash of sesame oil. I tossed in the pork shreds and mixed them in the sauce. Then with the pot lid back on, I put the pot back into the oven for another 1hr.

At the end of the baking, you'd end up with beautiful moist pork threads like these............I couldn't resist stealing strands after strands of the pork to put into my mouth :P~ So there you go......the cheat's way of making pulled pork in less than half the cooking time and with half the effort! The pulled pork will chill nicely in the refrigerator so you can reheat it in the microwave anytime you feel like having one of those juicy pulled pork burgers.

This morning, I spread non-fat mayo, lettuce strips & the pulled pork on half side of a round wheat tortilla.....fold the tortilla in half and then fold it again into a quarter for RG's lunchbox.

I also made a strawberry+mango salad by washing/cutting the fruits and then soaking them in fresh 100% orange juice with some agave nectar to reduce the tanginess of the fruits.

Like how the strawberries looked like little hearts? Here's a short pictorial tutorial how to cut them:

Spicy baked sweet potato fries

2011-03-29T07:09:00.000-07:00

I decided to make sweet potato fries last night instead of the regular chips. I used the following seasonings (you can definitely substitute with whatever you have).....sorry, no exact measurements again, you know how I work.....just a pinch of this and a dash of that....it's all up to your taste preferences. I also added some olive oil.

I cut my sweet potatoes (I only used 2) into thin slices and threw them into a big ziploc bag.....and then, I added all the seasonings & oil into the bag.

Once you are done adding the seasonings....seal up the ziploc and give the potato slices some good swoshing around until they are evenly coated. Judging by the color in the ziploc bag, I knew I had gone a little overboard with the curry powder.....oopsie!

Preheat your oven to 350F. Spread the fries on parchment paper on a baking sheet and leave in the oven (top rack) to bake for about 50min. I flipped the fries once midway through baking.

I served my sweet potato fries on the side with my grilled pork chops. Yummy but lotsa ice water required to take away the heat from the curry powder & pepper! :P

Currently reading: Secret Lives of Great Artists

2011-03-29T06:07:00.000-07:00

This is my current bedtime reading.......written by Elizabeth Lunday. I bought this book from the Baltimore Museum of Art during my last roadtrip.

It was probably a combination of curiosity as well as the innate desire to "dig the dirt" on someone which prompted me to spend USD16.95 on it :P The author wrote about the lives of 35 great artists and their "secrets".

In any case, it was an interesting read and the book revealed some of the following (might or might not be true) on some of our favorite artists:

Vincent van Gogh - his "neurological symptoms" could've been caused by lead/mercury poisoning from the paint that he ate from the tubes.

Leonardo da Vinci - probably had ADHD and could've been in homosexual relationships.

Michelangelo - had a serious case of BO as he thought bathing was bad for health.

Monet - had a cataract problem which affected his color vision. And as a result, he was painting everything in tones of red and yellow before he was treated for his condition.

Picasso - was supposedly a heartless jerk who not only had a series of affairs but couldn't care less for his wives and children.

At the end of the day, I guess while a person can be extremely talented or extraordinary in a certain aspect.....he/she is still a normal person, just like you and me, who has inner struggles, makes mistakes, love/hate and has good and bad hair days.

If you've also read the book before....let me know what you think of it.

Reversible apron

2011-03-28T12:25:00.001-07:00

I took the longest time to figure out what to make for XY for her birthday as I was having some kind of a sewist's block for awhile.

As XY loves to paint and cook.....I decided to make her an apron that she can use when she engages in her favorite activities!

I made the apron reversible for more variety and it also has an adjustable neck strap.

The brown pokka dot side has got 3 big pockets (in pink fabric) in case she needs some place to put her recipe cards/paint tubes/cellphone/lipstick.

I decided to use a colorful retro fabric for the other side of the apron as I know she's one of the very few who appreciates retro prints and designs.

I'm gonna pack it and mail it off to her real soon. I doubt she reads my blog so I don't think this posting is gonna spoil the surprise for her.

I can only hope that she loves it.

Lunchbox Recipe - Chicken salad

2011-03-28T04:57:00.001-07:00

Today's lunch is chicken salad sandwich, butter lettuce salad, cantaloupe, blueberry cake, strawberry & roasted peanuts.

If you are wondering why I wrapped the sandwich in foil.......that's because RG often complains about his sandwich filling falling out from the bottom.....so I figured the foil could do the trick in preventing that messy situation.

Like that the strawberry resembles a heart!! :) Was planning to add the peanuts into the chicken salad but decided to just put it on the side so that the peanuts remain crunchy.

Green and red butter lettuces with low-fat caesar salad dressing on the side.

The chicken salad sandwich filling.........

Ingredients are just chopped chicken breast meat, chopped celery, corn and low-fat mayo.

I'm running out of ideas for the sandwich filling.......if you've got any interesting ideas for lunchbox sandwiches (cold), please do share them with me.