Life in Mono...

Curry in no hurry...

I bought a new slow cooker the other day. It was on sale. The first thing I did with it was make Chicken Curry. I cheated a little bit and bought the McCormick Slow cooker packet. All I added was the chicken pieces, coconut milk and potatoes.

8 hours later, this is what I got. It was super yummy. The meat literally fell off the bone.

Harvest Food...

These tomatoes and chillies were harvested today. I manage to get at least 20 tomatoes and a bowl full of chillies!!! So what do we do with that many tomatoes? M's Nepalese Tomato Curry of course.

Harvest Tomato Curry.

1 big Onions (sliced)
10 small tomatoes (quartered)
6 small chillies (chopped)
oil
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp tumeric

1. Heat oil in pot.
2. Add spices and chillies and fry till aromatic.
3. Add onions and fry till onion is soft and translucent.
4. Add tomatoes, close lid and let tomato simmer till very soft. Stir from time to time.

Hope you like it. It's really simple and quick to make.

Arroz Caldo...

 My neighbour made Arroz Caldo for me the other day and I have to say I am hooked!! Arroz Caldo literally means Rice Soup and it's mainly eaten in the Phillipines.

I made this batch yestereday after I found the recipe online.

Here is how to make it...

Ingredients :

1/2 kilo of stewing chicken
1/2 kilo of chicken liver, gizzard and premature eggs
1 whole garlic
1 whole onion
6 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. of kasubha
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, sliced
2 tbsp. of minced garlic
1 onion, diced
1/2 c. of long-grain rice
1/2 c. of malagkit (glutinous rice)
10 c. of chicken broth
1/2 tsp. of chopped fresh parsley OR 1 tbsp. of chopped onion leaves
1 tbsp. of cooking oil
4-6 pcs. of kalamansi (native lemon)
patis (fermented fish sauce) or salt
pepper

Cooking procedure :

Wash the chicken and remove all visible fat. Separate the eggs, liver and gizzard. Cut liver into 2″ x 2″ cubes. Place eggs and liver in the refrigerator. Clean and remove all visible fat from the gizzards. Place the chicken and gizzards in a casserole and cover with water. Add whole garlic, onion, peppercorns, bay leaf and 1 tsp. of salt. Set on the stove over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove scum as it rises. Lower the heat and simmer for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until the chicken and gizzards are tender. Remove the chicken and gizzards and cool. Chop coarsely and set aside. Strain the broth.

Wash the long-grain and glutinous rice and drain well.

Heat the cooking oil in a large heavy casserole. Frythe garlic until toasted. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the ginger to oil and fry until golden. Add the onion and continue frying until the onion is transparent. Pour in the drained rice. Cook the rice in oil until the grains start to brown. Pour in the broth, a cup at a time, while stirring. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer until the rice grains start to crumble. Season with patis or salt and pepper. Stir in the chopped chicken meat and gizzards. Bring to a soft boil then add the eggs and liver. Simmer for 5 minutes. Do not overcook the livers. Sprinkle with toasted garlic and chopped parsley or onion leaves. Serve hot with kalamansi halves on the side.

Charlie my neighbour said that you might want to add a little bit of Turmeric in it too for the taste and a bit of colour.

I did not add Gizzards or livers in mine.

Can you say no to...

THESE? I made them tonight after having dinner. Papa Nic cooked Carbonara for dinner and I said that I will make deserts. So armed with Nigella's yummy cupcake recipe, which I have made before and my new piping bag for the icing, I made these in less than 2 hours.

I need to get a bigger nozzle for my icing bag. I used a small one for this cupcake and I am not happy with the outcome. BUT... they still taste yummy though.

 

Its half gone now. :*) You want one?

Asian Stir Fry Noodles...

I just wanted to share M's latest food obsession. Asian Stir Fry Noodles. I got the recipe from a demo lady that was in my local Woolies. She was giving out free samples on the day and I thought "nyehhh... why not give it a try" and it was yummy. She was promoting the new Kikoman soy sauce range but I was asking her how she cooked it.

So I am sharing it with you. You can actually get any stir fry sauce actually but M loves this sauce. I am cooking it for him once every week now. Its very very easy, simple and quick.

ASIAN STIR-FRY NOODLES

WHAT YOU NEED...

1. 1 Packet of Hokkien Noodles. (I poured hot boiling water over the noodles to loosen it)
2. 1 packet of frozen mix vegetables
3. 200g meat , I used pork here because its tastier and M loves pork.
4. Kikoman Sweet Chili, Garlic and Ginger Marinade

HOW TO

1. Fry the meat until brown.
2. Add a couple of shakes of the Marinade and mix well
3. After a few minutes add Frozen Vegetable and fry till vegetable is not frozen anymore.
4. Add noodles.
5. Mix well and serve hot.

Hope you like it.

First Harvest...

See this tiny thing? Its our very first harvest from our garden. I never had anything harvested from my garden before and this is the very first. YEAY...I served it to M for dinner tonight and he said it is spicy just like he likes it.

I can not wait to harvest the rest of my garden. BRING ON SPRING!! heheheh...

Nepalese Momo Version II...

When I first went out with M, I wanted to learn everything about the Nepalese culture. This includes learning how to make his favourite food, the Nepalese Momo or Dumplings. The first time I made it, it was horrible. M was sweet to finish everything though.

So a few weeks ago, we went to a friends place and she was making Momo and I asked for tips. The reason why I was not successful the last time, was because of the dough.

I made a batch last week and it was fantastic. M helped by wrapping it up.

Anyway, I made it with a different meat this time and to tell you the truth, Mince pork is the best. I got the recipe from Recipezaar and tweaked it according to M's taste. I love it. I made Tomato Chutney too. It was very easy to make and east to cook.

Click continue to get recipe.

PB and Jelly Sandwich...

The other week I was craving Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich. I know its not an Australian thing but I can't help it. I love the thing. I can not take Vegemite. Its weird. My cats love it though they will lick a teaspoon of Vegemite clean. :*)

Anyway, I hope to get my Internet connection up and running tonight. Lets just hope that everything goes through smoothly.

Yummy yummy...

 

What is that pyramid shaped thing you ask? Well it's called the Chang. I have no idea how to translate it to English but you can read about it HERE. I miss eating it. Last Sunday was Bak Chang Day so my colleague , also from Malaysia, brought some to work to share. Owh My GOD. That send me into a spiral of " Wow... these are not easy to make." "Did you make these?" "This is so Yummy" over and over again.

So that sent me on a mission. Looking for How - To's and recepies. I found a fair few. So I am tagging them on to del.icio.us and trying them out. They are not easy to make I tell you. My colleague told me that her future mother in law took 2 days making them. I say bring it on. If I am successful I will blog about it definitely.

With the new place, I have HEAPS of space to cook. I am excited ( I seem to be excited a lot these days hey?) ;*)

Fast Food...

I am still alive. Just needed time to get use to stuff. I took time off work today to rest. Anyway, I made homemade burgers and sweetpotato fries for dinner today. It was quick and yummy.

I know I said I will revealed everything on the 9th, but I can't wait. Everything will bbe revealed tomorrow. I promise.