What's cookin'?: Potato and carrot soup

This simple yet scrumptious soup has got to be everyone's favorite. I learned to make it from my dear housemate and fell in love with it instantly.

You need:
Carrot
Potato
Chicken stock
Shallot
Ground black pepper
Shrimp

Method:

1. Boil carrots and potatoes with chicken stock (I used one Maggi Chicken Cube) with just enough water to cover all the carrots and potatos
2. Cut shallot finely, fry till golden
3. After carrots and potatoes are tender, blend them together with the water
4. Pour the mixture into a pot, and heat it up on the stove
5. Cut shrimps into small pieces and put in the pot
6. Add ground black pepper and salt to taste
*You can adjust the thickness to your own liking

So easy right???

I had it with homemade foccacia bread, which I will share the recipe later :P

Bon appetite!

Portuguese Custard Tart

The other day I saw my friend Hana put up a picture of the tarts on her blog and instantly I said 'I have to make them!' So dayssssss after I saw the picture, I finally made them on Tuesday.

I followed (with some modification of course) this recipe I found online.

3 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
400 ml full cream milk (alternatively you can use 230 ml cream and 170 ml full cream milk)
2 tsp vanilla extract (I used less)
Puff pastry sheet

Method:
1. Pre heat oven to 200C (UK Gas Mark 6)
2. Whisk egg yolks and sugar, then add cornflour. Whisk again.
3. Add milk/cream, mix until no clumps
4. Place mixture over medium heat, stir until mixture thickens and comes to boil
5. Remove from heat, add vanilla extract
6. Cover with cling film (to avoid formation of 'skin'), set aside to cool
7. Roll puff pastry sheet, cut into circles, and place into muffin tray
8. Add custard mixture (3/4 full)
9. Bake for 20-25 mins (top turns brown)

They are supposed to look like that okay! I did not burn them :P

Happy tummy.

I have lovely housemates who love to cook, and to make things better, they are really good at it. They make all the hardcore dishes/food that I would never imagine making here in the UK.

Last Sunday Kak Hani made laksa utara enough to be eaten by 5 people for 3 days. Ha beat that! Not forgetting, she made tonnes of karipap sardin and daging on the same day.

This morning right after Subuh Kak Qamar made laksa johor for lunch. *I'm happily eating it at the moment*

Kak Ieda followed not long after. She made bihun sup daging kambing to be eaten for dinner. *Can't wait to go home to bihun sup now!*

I'm so spoiled!

That's why I have been slacking in the cooking department because 1) they are always ahead of me and 2) whenever they don't feel like cooking, I feel so inferior to cook for everyone being afraid my cooking is not good enough. They have set the benchmark so high okay. -_____-'

Maybe they want to give me a good rest before I start cooking full force come June :P

Karipap 101

I'm certainly not proud to say that my 'kelim karipap' skill is far below average. But I thought I'd share what I call true definition of 'Practice makes perfect' (even though my karipap is still not perfect :P)

There is still hope, I think. HA HA

What happened to 'What's cookin'?'

Entah lah labu, acik pun tak tahu.

Masa mula-mula buat 'What's cookin?' tu semangat bukan main. Siap amik gambar setiap step tu, pastu trus post. Sekarang gambar step-by-step kemana, recipe ke mana, tinggal gambar final product je. Tu pun masuk Facebook instead of post kat sini. Admittedly, blogging has seen better days. Dengan kewujudan telefon pintar dan kebanjiran 'apps' yang macam-macam rupa, maka 'habis madu sepah dibuang'. Walaupun wujud 'Blogger app' dan seangkatan dengannya, still tak menyelesaikan masalah sebabnya blogging kena bubuh words, walhal *aiceh* kalau guna Mobile Uploads atau Instagram mahupun Twitter hanya perlu upload gambar lalu terus berpegang pada prinsip 'A picture is worth a thousand words'. Blogging pun tak sampai 1000 words kadang-kadang. Maka jelaslah bahawa saya malas update blog.

Di kesempatan ini nak mengucapkan *macam nak raya daa* yang semua gambar-gambar makanan yang di upload di merata-rata tu bukanlah semuanya air tangan ku. Rezeki Allah bagi housemates yang pandai and suka masak *penting nak sebut dua-dua sebab ada orang pandai masak tapi malas, walaupun ini jarang* dan yang paling penting suka makan jugak. Sebabnya kalau kita masak beria-ria sekali diri sendiri makan semua balik gila down seh. Macam tak dihargai lol.

Kenapa upload gambar makanan? Lelaki suka complain perempuan suka sangat amik gambar makanan. Saja lah suka-suka. Amboi korang orang upload gambar depan cermin kata vain, upload gambar makanan mengata benda lain pulak. Janji tak keluar ayat geli 'Arini Ayang masak chicken chop  ilebiyu untuk Abang' sudaaaaaaah.

kthxbai!

1-month lunch challenge.

**UPDATED

Ehem ehem

I am proud to announce that...

I completed the challenge with success!!

Now, the next challenge is to sustain it.

InsyALLAH I will always remind myself that I can always make something better than forking out 2.50 pound for a sandwich :P

You guys should take on this challenge too! Reduce those calories from all the nasi campur you eat during lunch. *I tak jeles okayh :P*

****

Since I started my PhD, I have always wanted to bring lunch to work everyday. During my first week here, majority of my colleageous brought their own food and ate at the pantry. Then when I went down to get food for myself, there were very limited choices, I mean, what do you expect to get in a hospital's cafeteria. Actually I just went to a small snack shop two floors down my department, as the real cafeteria is located quite far away. So, again, what do you expect to get in a snack shop? The closest thing to 'lunch' I can get is a sandwich or a salad or a jacket potato (baked potato). They don't even sell soups! *Now I miss RIT SAU Cafe*

So from then on I tried to bring something, most of the time it was leftover from dinner. I thought of waking up early in the morning to make something, but the weather is not permitting *kaitan??* Of course ada kaitan, when it's cold it's so hard to get up in the morning, hence no time to make lunch. LOL.

But true what people say, when you plan on doing something, you would end up not doing it. Came new year, suddenly my brain just tricked my body into waking up early and just like that, my body went down the stairs and started making lunch and ate breakfast at the same time. It's been three days now *baru 3 hari duuhh* and I already feel proud of myself *allow a little vanity please*. 

Come to think of it, I better off bring my own lunch, first because there aren't much choice *if we have nasi campur here, I wouldn't even have thought about this entry*, and second, it's much cheaper. OK fine, two out of the three days I brought sandwiches. But still, my version of sandwich is 5 times better than what they have in the snack shop-I get to put whatever I want (compared to tuna, egg and prawn sandwiches I could get from the shop) with a much much cheaper price. A tuna sandwich downstairs cost 2.50 pound, whereas if I'm making a meatloaf sandwich, it'll probably be just 1 pound or even less. There's a trick that my housemate taught me - always hunt for reduced items. Here, everything that's getting close to the expiry date, the supermarket will reduce the price of the item. Last time we bought a loaf of bread for just 10 pence (cent), and the bread hasn't gone bad until now, one week after its expiry date. They do that (reducing the price) out of formality, I guess, because things here don't go bad as easily as they would have in the climate like Malaysia's.

So yeah, back to the point of this entry *Boy, I talk so much*

I am now challenging myself to bring lunch for the whole month, without fail. Other than saving money, it's also to test my creativity to come up with different meal every morning and also a test of preserverance LOL. I shall report the results of this challenge on *checking calendar* Tuesday, February the first. Kalau gagal don't ejek me, okay? Kat atas cakap jangan plan, now dah plan pulak. We will see :)

My lunch on Thursday: Meatloaf sandwich, clementine orange and Ferrero Rocher :P

What's cookin'? - Ep 7

Salam,

Lama pulak tak buat entry pasal makan. Dah lama tak cuba resipi baru :P

So, presenting to you......

Baked Penne Pasta with Mushroom

You need:

Penne pasta

Garlic

Butter/Olive oil

Mushroom

Salt and pepper

Cream

Mozzarella and/or cheddar cheese

Some thyme leaves

Method:

1. Melt butter in a pan (or you can opt to using olive oil instead, I used both in this recipe :P)

2. Saute garlic till golden

3. Add mushroom (I used chestnut mushroom. The more variety of mushroom you add the better)

4. Add thyme leaves

5. Cook until mushroom is tender

6. Add cream (or you can use milk instead, just cook a little longer till it thickens)

7. Add salt and pepper to taste

8. Then add al dente cooked pasta. Mix well.

9. Transfer half of the pasta into a baking dish

10. Sprinkle cheese

11. Add another layer of pasta and finally top with cheese (if you have breadcrumbs, add it at the top)

12. Bake until the top layer is golden 

Simple yet delicious!

*puji diri sendiri kejap*

Happy trying folks!

Food Photography..NOT!

The food photos I have taken over the last one year, using my Sony phone. 

Brings back memories.....

 Chicken Pot Pie I made for graduation party at Colony Manor (or something like that).

June 2010.

Kayu Nasi Kandar

Trip to USM with Mama for my interview. Alhamdulillah the interview got me here :)

Nov 2010.

Cheese tarts I made for Sons of Adam Family Day at Pulai Spring Resort, Johor Bahru.

February 2011.

Sup ikan merah by Chef Mama, the best ever!

Cannot remember when the photo was taken.

Homemade beef kebab, and baked potato as background.

Baked potato, close-up.

Thanks to Annes for inducing me to try the recipe :P

Aglio Olio Spaghetti.

Thanks to my dearest Kekna for teaching me how to make it.

Remind me of our sleepover sessions :)

Seoul Garden, One Utama with sister and brother-in-law.

Again, can't remember *too lazy to switch on my phone to get the date*

Baked Pasta (kot) at William's Corner, Kelana Jaya with Angah.

Don't judge the food by the look :P

Laksa Janggus, Balik Pulau.

August 2011.

Trip to USM for Research Methods course.

Met the nicest couple ever.

Serabai. Yes, that is what it is called.

Not too serabai pun kan? LOL

Same time as above.

Ikan bakar Hammerbay, Penang.

First salary dinner treat by Harris.

Good time, indeed.

Before.

After.

Pasembor, Padang Kota, Penang.

Can't believe I finished the whole big plate. Too sedap to resist.

Cendol, Padang Kota, Penang.

Beriani @ Kapitan, Penang.

I forgot how it taste like but surely heavenly.

Restoran Nelayan, Seremban.

Man, their masak lemak cili api is to cry for! Sungguh sedap! I requested to have my last lunch in Malaysia, here.

September 2011.

Johny's Steamboat.

My last treat for my parents before I left. Ate like a lion that night.

It's the family's favorite dine-in.

September 2011.

Last but not least, my first try making Salmon Teppanyaki.

Oh, I love salmon!

Isn't it fun to take a stroll down memory lane by browsing through old food photos? :P

Hopefully more food photos coming in 2012

*which I doubt because it's never the same with Malaysian food :(*

Masterchef in the making.

Salam,

The title is a mere exaggeration.

So over a month ago, there was this bookseller who came to our lab and dumped dozens of books in the pantry. At first I thought some kind people donated those books because they thought scientists need a break, and ironically they thought books could give scientists a break. Come on, more books on top of those journal articles and tedious lab work? Give us a REAL break.

That was quite a ramble there.

Turned out those books were for sale, and the bookseller put them there for sample.  

I caught one Chinese guy trying to figure out the price for a Disney Sing-a-long book. He said he was buying it for his niece in China. How adorable!

But most people, guys included, were crazy about this one book.

At first glance I knew I had to buy it. First, because it's pink. Second, it has cupcakes as the cover. Third, it's baking book! (The third one should be the first, LOL) 

I enjoy baking, it's just that I don't have much time for it. *alasan* But I thought, this book was a good bargain. Its retail price is GBP 25 but this seller was selling (and still selling it online) at GBP 10!! Tell me how can I not get it? I convinced myself sooner or later I'm gonna find time to bake therefore I must get this book. So that later in the future, I could have this little conversation with my hubs..

On a nice Saturday evening..

Hubs: Yang, I feel like having panettone for tea 'lah' today.
Me: Coming right up Hun :)

Me: Tomorrow can we have millefeuilles 'pulak'?

Hubs: Uuuuuu I like that :)

BERANGAN! HAHAHAHAHA. I can't even pronounce those two things correctly. LOL

But seriously, it's worth every penny. The book has more than 300 recipes (just my wild guess) and every main recipe comes with a step-by-step instructions like the picture below. It has everything you could think of, sweet to savory, breakfast to tea. Well actually not everything I could think of; I was flipping through it the other day and guess what, no Red Velvet recipe. I think the book is biased towards European recipes because all I can see is 'Italian this' 'French that' 'originate from Germany' and all that jazz. But still WORTH.IT.

p/s: It's been a month or so since I got a hold of this book, but I haven't tried any recipes yet. Hi hi. I'll make time I promise! You're gonna see me covered with tepung and egg in this blog soon. :))

What's cookin'? - Ep 6

Salam,

During my last sleepover with Kekna and Kekngah, Kekna made us wake up early in the morning to go to Tesco. She wanted to cook Spaghetti Aglio Olio for us. Pergi Tesco tak mandi uols, buruk perangai haha. Yelah, malam tu baru balik dari day trip pergi Melaka, sampai rumah at 1 am, tidur dekat pukul 3 am. By 9, semua dah bangun. Konon dah terbiasa bangun pagi sebab pergi kerja :P

I think it was my first time having Aglio Olio and boy was it delicious!

So earlier this week I kinda craved for it, but only got the chance to cook it yesterday.

So you need...

Pasta (I think any kind would do, this time I used Angel Hair)

Large prawns

Dried chilies

Ground black pepper

Parmesan cheese

Black pepper sausage

Garlic

Olive oil

FYI, Aglio means garlic and Olio means olive oil, in Italian. So the basis of the recipe are garlic and oil. And if you haven't noticed, ini bukan pasta yang ada gravy. It's rather dry. But since I am a cheapskate yang kedekut nak melabur RM19.90 for a bottle of extra virgin olive oil, I substituted it with butter. So it's Aglio Burro Pasta tee hee hee.

Method:

1. Heat olive oil in a pan

2. Once heated, saute garlic until golden

3. Add prawns, sausages, and dried chillies (soak your dried chillies in hot water for a bit before adding to the pan)

4. Sprinkle ground black pepper and parmesan cheese

5. Add pasta

6. Add more parmesan cheese and black pepper to your liking

7. Pasta is then ready to serve

8. If you like, you can drizzle olive oil over your pasta before serving

Easy-peasy!

Happy trying :P

What's cookin'? - Ep 5

Salam,

Last Sunday night I was down with a weird-feeling stomachache, the kind I never had before. Nak kata senggugut bukan, food poisoning pun bukan. And it lasted till Monday morning :( At work, Dr. Ranald diagnosed me for having gastric when I told him the symptoms and the fact that I didn't have dinner on Saturday night and only had lunch at 4 pm on Sunday. The diagnosis was further confirmed by Dr. Mama. She gave me all sorts of advice including the most random one;

Beli susu kotak kecil2 tu, jangan dah beli handbag and baju, dah macam pokok!

Sempat lagi tu nak bagi pesanan khidmat masyarakat. Dari cerita sakit perut, boleh masuk pasal my shopping habit. Oh mummmyyyyy kuuuu...

I got home after work on Monday, and Kakak the Pharmacist prescribed me some black looking tablets; I refused to take it because of its look (judging a book by its cover). And when I checked at the back, it is actually 'Activated charcoal' hence the color. Lagi lah taknak makannn, charcoal kot! But I googled it, it's actually for to naturalize poison in the body yada yada yada.

From a doctor, Mama became a psychologist, then a nutritionist. She advised me on what to eat and what not to eat. So at the end, I made 'Sup Makaroni', which is the WHOLE purpose of this entry. Hahaha..sorry I took you through the long way :)

SUP MAKARONI

You need: Onion, garlic, cinnamon sticks, star anise, ginger, macaroni, carrot, celery, potato, sup bunjut/perencah sup, chicken stock, cili padi, salt and pepper

Method:

1. Blend onion, garlic and ginger

2. Saute blended ingredients with cinnamon sticks and start anise in a little bit of oil until golden (I didn't have sup bunjut/perencah sup, so I added a bit of serbuk kurma here instead)

3. Add water

4. Once water is boiling, add macaroni, carrot, potato and chicken stock/chicken cubes

5. Now wait forever 

6. Add cili padi to your liking, salt and pepper to taste

7. Add celery

8. Voila! Sup Makaroni siap!

*I really think adding serbuk kurma makes it taste better..hi hi hi*

You can also add some protein, that makes the soup 'Hidangan Sepinggan Lengkap', like we were taught in Kemahiran Hidup very long time ago *uhuk uhuk dah tua*

Traffic jammed deyy in there. If I were to put chicken cubes, lagi lah jammed. 

Last but not least, garnish with bawang goreng and daun sup :)

Oh lapaaaaaaaaar

What's cookin'? - Ep 4

Salam,

I was nursing two sickbirds at home earlier this week, and guess what I made for them?

Of course not Black Pepper Beef Steak. What else do you serve to sick people, other than Chicken Porridge?

This entry is dedicated to guys out there. If you refused to learn to cook, because at the back of your mind, you know you are going to be married to an awesome lady who cooks for you, please at least learn how to make porridge.

Your future wife is human being, and one day she's gonna catch some flu virus somewhere and fall sick, so please don't ask her to cook for you, and don't simply go 'tapau' food for both of you.

Now, you can settle for some plain porridge, but us girls won't be too impress. *Yeah women are hard to please* I'm gonna show you how to make 'Chicken Porridge with The Works'. Or more like, TELL you.

You need: rice, anchovies, telur masin, daun bawang, ginger, bawang goreng, chicken breast, carrot, oyster sauce, chicken stock/cube, soy sauce, salt, black pepper 

Method:

1. Wash half cup of rice

2. Boil 6 cups of water in a large pot

3. Add rice and thinly sliced ginger to the boiling water

4. Add carrot, chicken cuts and chicken stock/cube

5. Last but not least, add oyster sauce, soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste *Don't ask me why I put oyster sauce, I'm just a big fan*

While waiting for the rice to turn to porridge (nasi menjadi bubur), boil one telur masin, and fry anchovies to your liking. I like it super crispy when it comes to having it with porridge.

Garnish with daun bawang and bawang goreng.

The works.

 Boy, was it yummy!

*

As token of appreciation for being a good nurse, the now-healthy sickbirds brought home IKEA meatballs for me. How nice. It even came with a 'Thank You' note.

'Dear Nurse, TQ for taking care of us. May the balls satisfy u!'

-anna&alan-

I thought they have to-go box, but well they don't. Instead, they ask you to purchase the RM 7 plastic container for you to put the food in. These people, very clever one. Eyes see $$$$ only.

Salivating yet? Hi hi hi