Savoury Fluffy Pancakes and Crispy Baked Potatoes

My sister came for a  visit and as always I try to make something she likes and Something special..
So, I made Savoury Fluffy Pancakes and Crispy Baked Potatoes!

I honestly feel like there is nothing better than making food for people you love... and when you enjoy it together over glasses of cold coke and laughter.. It is one of the few most beautiful moments in life..

Here are the recipes:

Savoury Fluffy Pancakes

1/2 cup of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp of thyme
dash of dried parsley ( or fresh)
a pinch of salt
a pinch of sugar
2 eggs (separated)
1/2 cup milk

Method:
- Mix all the dry ingredients together ( sift the flour)
- Mix the yolk with the milk and whisk to combine
- Whisk the egg whites till soft peaks form
- Mix the dry ingredients with the milk and yolk mixture
- Fold in the egg whites mixture
- Fry in lightly buttered pan,
- Serve with sauce of your choice ( I made a onion thyme sauce to accompany my pancakes)
 or maple syrup of you have some.

Crispy baked Potatoes

Potatoes
Salt
Rosemary
Garlic Chili infused Olive Oil
3 cloves of garlic

Method:
- Boil the potatoes in salted water until soft.
- Drain the pan and shake with a lid vigorously until the potatoes break on the outer layer
- Once the potatoes cool, line on a baking tray
-Crush the garlic and place with the potatoes
- Drizzle with Garlic Chili Olive Oil
-Sprinkle salt and Rosemary
- Bake for 15 mins at 200 degrees ( or until crispy golden)

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.. and share them with people you love..

Till the next cooking adventure,
Toodles~

My food Adventure..

My food adventure, Where? Why at home of course!

I have recently been limiting myself to a certain amount of budget.. Living as a student and all...
and most of my allowance is spent on food..

I believe in food... It need not be posh.. with expensive wine, or all the cutleries I don't even know what for... Food must be prepared with love.. with a certain amount of creativity and balance..
That is the beginning of a good meal.. add on a dash of fantastic company and a bowl full of steamy laughter and there you have a fantastic meal!

It is a therapeutic process for me.. cooking that is...

Looking up the recipes, preparing the ingredients.. there is a strong sense of happiness and once I plate it up I get delirious.. It is even better when I am cooking for people I love..  When they do enjoy what I make.. I cannot stop feeling victorious!

Okay enough psychobabble-

I had some strawberries and beautiful salad ingredients so I made a Cold Strawberry Balsamic Pasta..

I sort of threw it all together on the top of my head.. an invention of sorts.. I am assuming somewhere on earth the was someone who made this, and I was inspired cosmically.. What is original anyway..

Here is what it looks like...

Ingredients:

Dry Fettuccine

Strawberries

1/2 red capsicum

1/2 yellow capsicum,

4 baby radishes

1/2 carrot

Cherry tomatoes

Italian parsley

Balsamic vinegar

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt 

Pepper

Lemon

Method: 

- Half or quart your strawberries, macerate them with balsamic vinegar ( 2 tbsp)

- Boil your fettuccine in salted water... once done dunk in cold water

- slice the vege and toss them together

- tear up the parsley and toss in

- mix everything, salt and pepper to taste and drizzle some olive oil and squeeze lemon.

ENJOY!!

:)

If you try this tell me what you think.. 

Food must be colorful and fun... food must make you think..

Food should be enjoyed..

For the love of food... 

Till the next morsel..

Toodles~

When You Meet a Friend~

So~ after a LONG time~ I finally met someone I had not seen for 6 years!! Imagine that?

and he was so kind to belanja this food crazed person lunch!  = D

We met up at Pyramid and I insisted we find a place to sit down quickly~ You see, my friend?
He is TALL and well I....
I am a dwarf~ [purposely never take picture with him] and I wanted a level ground to talk to him.. =D

So~ to lunch!

We had lunch at....(drum-roll) SHOGUN!

Picture from here

Okay, so, I sniffed out the oysters!! oohhh~ Divine things *swoon* , and introduced dear ol' Sharman to them~ Conclusion? Not Bad~~

=P

They looked like this~ I forgot to take pics *malu*

After the oyster starter~ We SERANG!!! haha~ Sharman went beserk with the amount of selection! So did I~ hehe.

First course~ 

Yep, there is a fish head on my plate~ Salmon fish head, and if you are a fish lover AND you love EYEBALLS you would know this is the best! Salmon eyeballs are the most yummy things ever~

 Granted Sharman thought is was strange~

 Do you think it is? or do you love it just like I do *smacks lips*

So I had yummy teriyaki salmon head, cheese baked mussels (like Sharman put it, How can I say no to cheese anything? ) , some yummy lamb ribs, baby octopus, some clams in broth and 'shark fin's soup'.

Next round~

SASHIMI~~ 

The small platter contains some pickled baby octopus, okay let's make this clear, I really like octopus~ 

and there is century egg, salmon, octopus, saba, spicy salmon and some white fish (totally forgot it's name) 

Sharman~ and his platters of sushi and other things

I have to apologize, at this point I forgot to take pics of the food~~ 

*must concentrate on delicious food* 

So for the final round I am going to be using pics from the net~ =P

Shogun had Peking Duck, but since they are a Japanese restaurant, instead of using ordinary popiah skin, they used...

Seaweed

...

..

=.='

It wasn't bad since duck is over powering but soggy seaweed does NOT make good popiah like skin~ Sharman did not like how the seaweed overpowered the duck~ coz the duck and it's sauce was so so GOOD!! *drool*    

then... I mentioned "Hey they even got Chawanmushi!" and to my suprise Sharman went.. "whats that?"

so I got up and took one for him~ After all how can one NOT have that eggy goodness??

Sharman's eggy-fied goodness~

I'm not too sure if he liked it that much~ but I will assume he is now crazy about it ~ =D

Since they had this Arabic cuisine thing going on that day I had TWO things from that area~ 

Kafta Kebab with tzatziki dip

Pic from here

and

Stuffed chicken (at least that's what they call it)

Pic from here

But I am pretty sure it was a delicious Bird~ yummm~ 

I did not like that there were peas in the stuffing but it was still quite good =D

We did not have dessert there for a few reasons:

   1. They stopped playing the music (not that it was fantastic.. but still)

   2. The waiter came while we were mutilating the bird, and asked for payment

 "Can I have the bill please sir?"

  3. They killed the aircond AND lights at the buffet table

But the BIGGEST reason was because the food was all~~

at the NEXT table~

notice how the people are missing?

They went for MORE...

So wasteful..

I couldn't finish the kebab also I felt bad~

But, back to Shogun... I have to say~ 

Semua SEDAP *stupid grin* the food was very very good~

I LOVE THIS PLACE~ 

Thank you for taking me there Sharman!!! You are the best =D 

Okay, so for dessert we jalan jalan sampai si tinggi cakap~ Ey, I never eat Haagen Daz la.. Jom! 

We went..

we sat..

we RAN..

=D

because right across there was BASKINS! 

so, since I was wearing pink, I got a discount! Two jr. Scoops for the price of ONE! 

Sharman said I very aggressive lo~ "I'M WEARING PINK!"

so I got Very Berry Strawberry and Cruchy Latte 

and Sharman got.. Uhm.. some brownie thingy.. 

*happy!*

Yes, Life is sweet when food is good~

So the next time you are up for something good.. or Strange~ Ask me! I've probably had it~~

Which reminds me~ Sharman asked me something I have not found the answer to~ 

WHAT HAVE I NOT EATEN~~ 

o.O 

I.. don't.. Know~~

Help me figure it out guys~

But it is ALL for the love of food!

Till the next meal~

Toodles ~ 

Plain doughnuts and Ice cream~

Okay, So here I am sitting at my desk staring at this blank screen waiting for a sign from my social network life (Yes, I do mean Facebook) after a long ~ I do mean LONG day.


I glance to the left and gaze lovingly at my recently acquired Whispers of Summer.


Whispers of Summer~

Don't you just love the name? It takes me on a little mental holiday, and some hot faraway romance......YUM!

XD

And why am I depending on a mere box of juice to keep me smiling and maintaining my 4 going to 5 disposition?

Simple: I had a trying day.

Most of all, I realised today that food is not necessarily a shared pleasure, it is a necessity to few, pleasure to many individuals but not necessarily shared. Do you know what I mean?

So I went to a restaurant yesterday, I had the soup and salad set which made me really happy. Really happy =D but then, I noticed that my friends did not shared my enthusiasm for the place.. which quickly deflated my pleasure.

Same goes for my love of ice cream and doughnuts.  I LOVE THEM PLAIN.

Yes, I am a freak of nature I love PLAIN doughnuts and ice cream.

There is just something so gratifying when you have these flavours as they come~~







How do you like your food?

And would you still enjoy a meal when no one else is?

Food for thought~~
Till the next meal...

<3 toodles~

Yummy CNY Treats

At this time of the year, tinkling sounds in the kitchen simply means someone is breaking into the Kuih Kapit Tins.. *grin*

And tonight, the sounds in the kitchen is because of me! Yes I am sitting here in front of the laptop typing this out with my bounty... OH YES! Paper thin crispiness, just enough sweet and extra santan (coconut milk) to satisfy my craving for my midnight snack.

Isn't it just lovely? Waiting for me to munch munch munch... I even made myself some green tea... Counter the effect and all that.. (kidding). The reason why I choose Green tea to accompany my delicious midnight munch is to have something warm, with flavor but not sweet.

The best kuih kapit or  love letters, are the ones made during CNY. The love and attention that goes into making them.. Every year when the milo tins stack outside the house, you know the people in it are inhaling the Kuih Kapit with gusto... hehe..

Let's not forget the tiny animals and fruit shaped CNY Kuih Bangkit... Especially the ones my mum gets from a friend... YUMMO! It literaly melts in your mouth and is not to sweet.. actually it is not sweet at all... Just having three owl shaped ones are making me Jump for Joy!


Yes.. I am peculiar, especially when it involves food.. But like I've said..
Food is the way of life...

So, until the next meal (or snack)~ Toodles

Food of 2009

Let me begin my blog by sharing my wonderful culinary adventures in 2009. Granted I can't go through it all... and I seem to have misplaced certain pictures... The picture above is a piled variety of dishes from a buffet. Not just ANY buffet, but the Island Restaurant, Trader's Hotel Penang.

It's interesting how I came to have a FREE lunch there.. {insert devious laugh} Nope I did not seduce the chef there.. nor did I con a man to take me there, my dear ol' dad got a lunch voucher for five! Isn't that nice? Oh the perks of being my dad...

So.. whats on my plate? On the far left corner, underneath the greens is a nice piece {a big piece, mind you} of succulent Roast Duck. Yumm! Just thinking about the crispy skin and tender flesh.. makes me want to run out and brave the Thaipusam crowd for a little bit of Mr. Quack Quack. On top of the tantalizing duck is a jellyfish salad, which we all know is light and springy and absolutely fantastic.. Now, if you put Andrew Zimmern here today he'd say it's not for the squeamish.. I say he's wrong, jellyfish is for everyone..(except if you have allergies)

On the right side I have a little sushi.. (a tad on the dry side) but the pickled ginger made it all better.. xP
I also have some boring fish.. and a little dip.. That was really the most interesting stuff on the buffet line..
Yes, I know a slight bit disappointing...  the dessert was some sort of sad too~ the eclairs were abominations, the bread pudding just too sweet, the mousse dessert not entirely appetizing..

But! Don't write them off yet~ they took out a few of tiramisu's in small glasses, and that my dears was their saving grace... it was small enough to satisfy your sweet tooth and delicious enough to run back for more!

See what I mean when I say, I LOVE FOOD?

Now, that was not THE most interesting place I  went in 2009, nope... let me just rattle off a few, David Brown's (DEVINE scones! with Devonshire Clotted cream no less), Delicious by Ms. Read (Yummy Chicken in Pesto and Mascarpone), China Treasures in Sime Darby Convention Centre (Fantastic CNY lunch), Seafood Buffet~ Traders Hotel (Now, this was good- Oysters!).....

Okay I think you get the idea, but I don't just eat at restaurants, I still go for simple fare, like Siput Belitung Masak Lemak @ Transfer Rd, Penang (You've never eaten siput, until you've had this), Kari Kepala Ikan @ Jones Rd, Mee Udang all the way near Balik Pulau Area (I'm not too sure where exactly), Gurney Drive (the not entirely halal side )

My best moment yet, was when I was asked to attend a food review!!! I was doing some writing for Penang Passion (here is my article) and they gave me the opportunity to attend Chef John Brock (NZ) food tasting! There were Prawns in Kataffi, Salmon Confit, Meat and Fish ~ not to forget dessert... it was interesting and delicious!

I have had so many  food adventures in my life, I think it's high time I started documenting them...
For to me, food is not just sustenance, it is a way of life..

It is all for the Love of Food,

Till the next meal~ Toodles