Hard Decisions

I keep waking up before 7am, no matter what time I go to sleep the night before. As soon as there is a sliver of blue morning light at the curtains, I wake up.

After much flip flopping about in bed, I got bored and got up and had breakfast. Cereal! Yes, i was excited! I haven't had cereal in about a year. I kept buying healthy cereal flavours that were gross and I'd end up throwing a nearly full box out, so I stopped buying it. This one was really good though, Kelloggs Honey Cornflakes. Not quite as good as Crunchy Nut which they don't sell here, but nice enough.

I went over to my in-law's place after breakfast to give Pinkie her medication. The silly dog ate poison up at camp about a month ago(she went over to the adjoining plantation and ate poison pellets there). While she survived the initial poisoning, the poison damaged her kidneys, and kidneys cannot be fixed :( My father-in-law says we should put her down as she has lost a lot of weight and will have to be on meds for the rest of her life, but G and I want to see if she will respond to the medicine first. I'm just buying time really until I can figure out what to do. Pinkie has been a camp dog her whole life, but bringing her back up may not be possible as her medicine needs to be kept below 4C and the generator only powers the fridge at camp for 7-8 hours of the day.

So, we'll just wait and see for now. I actually googled "kidney transplant for dogs" the other day. I'm dreaming of course as a procedure like that for dogs in Malaysia is basically science fiction.

I was starving after playing with the dogs and went home and made a pizza. I used the leftover meatloaf as a topping along with ricotta, spring onions , cherry tomatoes, parmesan and fresh parsley sprinkled over at the end.

Dinner: Cold green tea soba and salad with wasabi-ponzu sauce.

Dessert: Can you spot my Meiji chocolate wrappers? Just lazing in front of the tv. Looking forward to G coming home tomorrow.

Ricotta Baby

I made two batches of fresh ricotta in the last couple of weeks and I've been enjoying this creamy mild cheese in just about everything, including pancakes. Bill Granger's Ricotta Hotcakes got a big thumb's up from G. I don't think I'll be making pancakes any other way from now on. The ricotta and the whipped egg whites made the softest fluffiest melt in your mouth pancakes I've ever had.

This morning I made baked eggs with ricotta, spring onions, marinara sauce and cherry tomatoes for breakfast. They puffed up like crazy in the oven (yay!) but quickly deflated when I took them out.( boo!)

They were a little tricky to unmould. Next time I'll just serve them up in ramekins. I had them with a little Japanese mayo.

Lunch was spaghetti with garlic prawns, ricotta and marinara sauce (the sauce was hiding underneath the pasta) with a little seven spice Japanese pepper sprinkled on top, and a simple salad of cucumber, cherry tomatoes, mint n spring onions with ponzu n olive oil.

I'm supposed to be going out to run some errands today but it's bucketing down so hard. December is normally rainy here in KK. I just realised this is the third December I've had living here. Time is really flying. I'm a lot happier here now, but I'm still looking forward to the day when we can move away, either back to Melbourne or somewhere else.

Update: My dinner. I admit, when I make up my own recipe, it can be 50/50. Sometimes it comes out great n sometimes it's just meeeehhhh. This made up tofu chicken meatloaf however was very moreish. No, I didn't put ricotta in it, I used parmesan instead. With egg, breadcrumbs, spring onions, garlic powder, parsley, dried thyme n paprika. Smeared with a tomato bbq sauce on top, then baked at 180 C for 45 mins.

Home again

The holiday ended for us on Saturday and it was straight up to camp on Sunday. We came back a little worn out with both of us nursing bad colds but oh what a fantastic trip we had!

Singapore was hectic as usual where we walked for miles and miles all over Bugis Junction and Orchard. I bought colourful tops at Kiss Jane and gold glitter polish at Sephora. I had lunch with my grandma and got to do some long overdue bonding with my cousins at the wedding. I had bak kut teh (pork bone tea soup) for breakfast, I had tofu cheesecake for brunch, I had chicken rice for lunch and black pepper crab for dinner.

And then it was on to Penang, where we ate even more, scouted around the antique shops, searched high and low for Assam laksa, got familiar with my heritage at the Peranakan museum, drank RM80 civet poo coffee (tasted kinda like regular coffee), and stayed in an old coffee shop that had been converted into a beautiful Malaysian terrace house.

I have heaps of photos of the trip but they are stuck in our real camera (not my phone :p) and I'll get them out and stick them on here when I'm feeling a little more motivated.

For now, I'll leave you with a few pics taken since we came back.

Two sickies need chicken soup. This is the violet-hued chicken soup I made at camp. The violet bit was purely accidental and came from the pretty purple cabbage I added to the broth. It was good to get back to pure simple foods after all the heavy food we had on holiday.

I then made a tuna and pasta salad. You can see I'm really loving this purple cabbage. I'm scattering it in everything.

Is it a dog...or a giant cat?

This photo of Milo cracks me up. His crazy ears and long tail make him look positively feline from behind.

This is a rare shot. Even though you can't see Pinkie's face, I managed to snap all five dogs in one frame.

Pinkie was feeling a little under the weather and was extremely grumpy. This is the type of baleful looks she was shooting me all day.

A Birthday!

Happy Birthday tooooooooooooo G!!

Birthdays should start out with present opening. This one was not so secret because he picked it...but I still wrapped it up all the same. It's his new work watch which he can get muddy and do manly things with.

We went over to G's parents place at about 8.30am. I always like checking out all the fruit trees and vegetables growing over there. First up, I spotted a big bunch of bananas growing outside the front gate.

Mas Dian, my in-law's new gardener had been harvesting coconuts, they were everywhere!

This tall spindly plant is called Sayur Manis (sweet vegetable). You can only eat the tips of the stalk as the leaves, middle and base sections gets very fiberous. I like the slight crunch it has when I have it in stir fries.

One of the many papaya trees (or pawpaw as it's known in Aussieland) growing around the house. I like my papaya very cold and eaten with a squeeze of lime. It's the perfect remedy to the tropical heat over here.

There was a sack of these funny green knobbly guys on the back verandah. My mother in-law said they were 'breadfruit' and it was what the locals ate a lot of during the Japanese occupation in world war 2 as there was not a lot of food to go around.

She had sliced the breadfruit thin, dipped them in a flour and cinnamon batter and fried them up as fritters earlier. I ate a few....well more than a few, they were delicious. Slightly sweet and the texture was starchy, like tapioca.

I made a healthy afternoon snack for G while he did some accounting work at home.

And a not so healthy snack for me. Milk Rocky!!

We're having a family dinner at a Chinese restaurant tonight for G's birthday, then tomorrow we are off on our Singapore/Penang trip! I'm hoping we have free wifi in our hotels. I'll try do a few blog posts if we do :D

Wednesday snaps

I woke to a bread machine malfunction.

So I mixed up this...

And cut it into these...

Which baked up into these (Cranberry vanilla scones).

I bought some groceries...

And did my nails.

Then watched G bring back our runaway dog...

And it was home again to wrap a special present.

Hope everyone had a great day too! :)

For the love of games

Breakfast: Wholemeal crepes with sweet cream and blackberry compote; and iced coffee.

Oh my...getting fancy aren't we :) I would have had to wake up at 6am to put this breakfast together today, but I prepared most of the ingredients last night (whipped the cream, made the batter and chilled the coffee).

And ok, I lied, they're not really wholemeal crepes, I just added a tablespoon of wholemeal flour to the 2/3 a cup of plain flour that made up the batter. But they give the appearance of wholemeal crepes and that makes me FEEL healthier when I eat them :D

I think G has it pretty good in the morning these days. We wake up and he turns on the PS3 while I head to the kitchen. He plays his game while I cook. Then half an hour later I'll yell out "OKAAAAAAAY!" , which is Teaspoon-speak for "Breakfast is ready". I'm really trying to compete noise-wise with Jack from the apartment next door. He is this 4 year old boy who looks a lot older. When we first met him G thought he was 8 years old and that there was something "wrong" with him as he was banging his toy car against the lift door, again and again, like a....well like a 4 year old. Lucky I asked his dad how old he was and then we were like "Ooooooh" - that explains it.

G is currently playing 'Dark Souls' on the PS3 right now, and from a spectator/wife's perspective it is a relatively unannoying game. There are no repetitive voice overs and there's no whiney medieval background music like there is on so many role playing games these days.

There is one bit in the game though that was irritating. The other day while I was taking a nap, I could constantly hear this...

"Chink......chink......chink.......chink....."

Over and over again, like a dwarf mining for gold in a cave. The apartment below is currently undergoing some construction work and in my nap time stupor, I thought it was from coming from there, but the noise was too exact and to the same beat, a workman would have to have been a robot to be making that it. So I came out to the living room and found out it was just the stupid game!

Oh and another thing is that there is no pause function in the game. So say if a husband is in the middle of an intense boss fight and a wife happens to yell out something like "Hun help!!! That baby cheechak with no tail has come BACK!!!", there will be a very long and uncomfortable pause (uncomfortable for the cheechak and the wife who are standing there eyeballing each other) before the husband puts down the remote control to remove the baby lizard from the apartment.

No pause button? Game designers what were you thinking??

In all honesty, I love console and computer games. Playing them in a way is a lot like reading a really good book where you can escape into a story, only better because you are the main character and you can make decisions and affect the story line to certain extent. Actually, G and I played WOW for many years. We did the whole shabang: instances, pvp, end game raiding...(yes, I know, n3rds!) We eventually stopped because:

1) We got a puppy who did not care to share our attention with two computers.

2) I got tired of going to work red-eyed after gaming till 2am every morning.

3) We decided to get married. Then real life kinda took over.

These days I just spectate as G unwinds from work with a new game. While I love playing two player games with him on the PS3 (that way he can do all the thinking and I can just follow him around and be his sidekick, mindlessly killing all the baddies), there are so few good ones out there. Almost everything is for the single player. And with game designers so reluctant to seriously tap into the female gaming market, I just end up sticking to old skool games on my iPhone.

Confetti Salad - Israeli Couscous with Sweet Corn and Grilled Capsicum

I brought back a small packet of Israeli couscous from Kakulas Brothers when I was in Perth last month. I have a bad habit of buying an unusual ingredient out of curiosity, vowing to find out how to use it, then throwing it into the pantry where it will sit for months until I rediscover it 6 months to a year later...well past it's expiry date. Tell me I'm not the only one who does this?

Determined to not let that happen to my cute little Israeli couscous, I took it out The other night night and proceeded to turn it into a pretty confetti party of a salad that was sweet, fresh and tangy. The Israeli couscous had a chewier bite compared to regular couscous and gave the salad a wonderful texture.

I was super chuffed with this salad. If you make it I'm sure you'll be chuffed too!

Israeli Couscous Salad with Sweet Corn and Grilled Capsicum

Serves 4 (as a side) or 2 (as a main)

You'll need:
1 cup of Israeli couscous - cooked as per the packet instructions (regular couscous should work quite happily in this salad too)
2 ears of fresh corn
2 red or yellow capsicums
Two large handfuls of cherry tomatoes - halved
1/3 cup raisins
A small bunch of spring onions - chopped finely

Vinaigrette:
Juice from half a lemon
1/4 cup good olive oil
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
Seasalt and black pepper

Method:
Turn on your grill and chargrill your corn and capsicums, turning often it as they start to blacken.

When the corn is done, cut the kernels off with a sharp knife, letting the kernels fall into a bowl.

Wrap your blackened capsicums in plastic wrap and let it sit for 5 minutes to soften the skin. Peel off most of the burnt skin, then slice in half, remove the seeds and slice into strips. Add to bowl along with the corn kernels.

Add in raisins, spring onions and tomatoes.

Combine vinaigrette ingredients in a jar, give it a good shake and pour over salad. Give it a stir and serve!

Rainy

Breakfast: Fried egg, spice potatoes, cherry tomatoes and orange juice.

My cheery new breakfast mug. It's so small, just the right size for my fresh juice.

Looks like there's a new sitcom coming out on cable next week called 'That Girl' starring Zooey Deschanel. I love her! It's been years since I got into a sitcom.

I also finally got to see Midnight in Paris last week. It wasn't what I expected but I enjoyed it all the same. And how gorgeous is Carla Bruni!

G got back from his overnighter this afternoon. I think he was tired and just wanted a simple dinner of basic Chinese comfort food so I made chicken soup with carrots, potatoes and pak choy, stir fried cabbage with enoki mushrooms and ham (I used BUTTER instead of oil. It was a good move. mmMmm!), and I defrosted some char siew (sweet roast pork) I made last week and we had that with rice.

Dessert was ice cream, chocolate for me and macadamia nut for him.


*You may have noticed that I removed that big picture of a chicken drumstick in soup because G said it looked disgusting. Haha. He is my unofficial blog editor.

Sunday

Breakfast: Last night's onigiri (rice balls) and orange juice.

This is the first time I've made them successfully after following Maki's excellent tutorial. I wrapped the seaweed round them Japanese convenience store style and stuffed them with tuna with mayo. They were good!

Lunch: Israeli couscous salad with grilled corn, char grilled capsicum, cherry tomatoes and raisins. (recipe to come!)

I made G a packed lunch. He's heading to camp on his own today. I decided not to go this time as it's only an overnight trip and the up and down travel really tires me out sometimes. Plus I really need to get a haircut and do something about my nails before our trip next week....

Do I sound guilty for not going yet? Heh...

Dinner: Couscous by candlelight.

Just me and the tv tonight.

Friday Feeds

Breakfast: 2 slices of Croque Monsieur and half a glass of milk

Lunch: Cold green tea soba with dipping sauce.

This is my go to lunch when I'm on my own as G for some reason doesn't like cold noodles. He also doesn't like lentils, cold chicken (unless it's in a salad), chawanmushi, chickpeas, kidney beans (any sort of legume really), snow pea shoots, Chinese jelly (though he loves jello) and risotto.

Today's grocery haul. Just a small haul. (Japanese rice, panko bread crumbs, organic wholemeal flour, pickles, oranges, corn, organic cherry tomatoes and seaweed) This time I'm going to keep the rice in the fridge because last time moths hatched out after a couple of weeks and I had to throw my expensive rice away. Apparently it's the humidity here that causes this :(

I had this great plan to make a miso-mayo baked salmon dish for dinner tonight but the salmon at my local supermarket didn't look too fresh so I had to make a quick menu change and decided to try my hand at onigiri (rice balls!) tonight :D. I'm a also hoping to do something with that corn as a side dish.

Wedding Outfit

My sister (who incidentally is at a wedding in the Victorian countryside today) asked me last night what I was going to wear to my cousin's wedding in Singapore next weekend.

I'm normally pretty lazy when it comes to buying a new outfit to wear to each wedding so I did a mix and match in my wardrobe and came up with this...

Top: Bought at a little shop in Wisma Merdeka shopping centre
Skirt: MNG. I wore it years ago to my cousin Jocelyn's wedding
Necklace: Bought at a boutique in Cottesloe, Perth
Shoes: Chie Mihara. They look comfy.....but they're not.
Pearl necklace: will be worn as a bracelet

What do you think? Looks rather English tea partyish? Haha. I was hoping to find some dark green earrings to match the shoes but it's slim pickings shopping wise in KK and we arrive in Singapore the night before the wedding so, I might just stick to my trusty gold hoops.

Now to find an iron for that top...

Croque Monsieur

The first time I encountered a Croque Monsieur was in a North Melbourne cafe, circa 2007. I saw it written on the blackboard menu and it was the only thing on there that I had no clue as to what it was. I had to order it!

As I waited in line for the girl taking orders at the till, I went through my order in my head as I normally do so I can just spit it out quickly and not hold up the line: one latte, one weak latte, one bacon and eggs on toast, a slice of banana bread and a cro...

cr....

crook?....

Crokay?....

Cro-queue?

Cro-queue Monsieur?

I swear my heart started beating a little faster. The cafe was packed and there were tons of people crowded around the front counter, the last thing I wanted to do was make a fool of myself by mispronouncing my breakfast. What if it ends up coming out "Cock Monsieur"? Quick order something else!

Too late, I was at the front of the line and the till girl was looking at me.

Me: Hi, uh...yeah I'll have a latte, a weak latte, uh....a banana bread, a bacon and eggs and...and....and uh....that.

Girl:(looking up at me) Sorry?

Me: That. (pointing feebly at the blackboard above her head)

Girl: Which one? (turning around to squint at the board)

Me: That one there (still pointing). Underneath eggs benedict? .....And above ricotta pancakes?.....(I could feel my cheeks turning pink)

Girl: (pauses) .....Oh Croque Monsieur?

Me: Yes! ( a tad too loudly) Croque Monsieur. (relieved grin breaking out on my face)

I kept my eyes fixed on the girl the whole time refusing to see any amused faces around me. I figured now was not the time to say "So, croque monsieur. Er, what is it?"

Well I needn't have worried. Ten minutes later I had something divine smelling plated in front of me. Hot bubbly butter cheese sauce on sliced slightly charred ham mingling with tangy Dijon mustard, all on a crunchy slab of grilled bread. The smell was heavenly! It was definitely worth the embarrassment.

Now that I'm living in Malaysia and with the nearest cafe serving this delectable breakfast ohh....say several thousand kilometres away, I make my own croque monsieurs at home. Make some with me? It's easy!

Sigh!

You'll enjoy the whole croque monsieur experience more if you eat it with a fork and knife, then use your fingers to pop the last crunchy bite in your mouth!

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Croque Monsieur  (adapted from Taste.com.au)

I cut down on a lot of the butter and cheese, making this a less guilty version of the original recipe. I assure you though that it still tastes quite rich and very delicious.

Makes 2

Ingredients
15g butter, just a small blob
1 1/2 tsp plain flour
1/3 cup milk
40g gruyere cheese, grated (I only had low fat cheddar but it worked fine)
2 slices of chunky cut sturdy bread, ciabatta is good
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Few slices of ham
 
Method
Pop your bread in the toaster or under the grill. Make sure you toast both sides, remove and set aside. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat, add the flour and cook for 1 minute without letting the mixture brown.
Add the milk and continue to cook over low heat for about 3-4 minutes or until thick. Add half the grated cheese, stirring to combine. Set aside to cool.
Spread the bread with Dijon mustard, place the ham and remaining cheese on top then pour the cheese sauce over the top and cook until golden and bubbling.

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And for the record it's kinda pronounced "Croq" Monsieur. Like 'crock' but not so harsh. *grin*