Ack

Have just realised that I am getting older - not as much energy when exercising and alcohol tolerance has plummeted. I think my birthday drinks record was an anomaly. Having chucked most of lunch and the six G&Ts I had at the office party, I am now somewhere between hungry and queasy. Since I am at work, I can only fantasise about what I would like to eat right now.

1) Clear chicken soup.
2) Prata.
3) Slices of bacon.
4) Orange juice.

On a more serious note, am considering abandoning the demon drink, which is something I would have never have said last year. Not giving it up completely, but sticking to a 3 drink limit, which will be good for both my wallet and my liver.

Cooking up a storm

Boredom + american food overload = inspiration to cook up a storm.

I actually baked some muffins AGAIN, and made curry, chili chicken, garlic prawns and chives and sauteed mushrooms.

To mark this amazing event (erh... I ain't likely to cook again like this when I get back home to Sg)

Here are a couple of recipes:



Curry:
Okay, hands up - who thinks pre packaged curry sucks? I do.
But here are the secret tips to make that premix taste totally authentic.

If you have curry and chili powder, GREAT, if not, and you're stuck with premixes like me, here's what I do:

Step 1:
Blend 5 shallots and 5 candlenuts - candlenuts not available? Subsitute with macadamia nuts or, in a pinch, cashews/pinenuts/peanuts. Three or four cashews will be equivalent to one candlenut... so adjust as necessary. Consistency should be really smooth, like paste.

Dump premix in pot, add the step 1 blend, add a wee bit more oil, and if you can some chili powder/cayenne whatever, if you like it a bit spicier.

Step 2:
Fry up this stuff until the oil starts oozing out again and it doesn't taste of raw nuts and shallots. Add two star anises, half a cinnamon stick and cardamom if you can find it. Some curry leaves too if you have some on hand.

Step 3:
Dump in some cut up chicken thighs, drumsticks and wings. Try not to use breast - cos you will be boiling and boiling the curry - the breasts come out totally dry and icky. Fry in the curry paste for about 3 to five minutes.

Step 4:
Add water till the chicken is just covered. Let it boil. About 15 minutes later - add some peeled, cut up potatoes.

Step 5:
After boiling for about 20 minutes or so, taste it. Add as much coconut milk as you like. Usually I use about 1/4 of the can... so keep tasting and adding the milk, don't dump all in at a shot. I don't like my curries too lemak, but its up to you.

Let it bubble on fairly low heat. And then, if you can, leave it alone for one night. I don't quite know why curry tastes better when it's left overnight but it does.

Each morning/night, boil up the curry - yes, till you see popping bubbles - this keeps it from going sour. If its too thick after you've left it in the pot for some time, add a wee bit of water.



Wontons:
Got some wonton skins on hand?
Mince up some prawns, and either some chicken/pork (one breast or one pork chop will be plenty). Mix together and add stuff you like, spring onions perhaps? Salt it a little and add a bit of pepper.

Stuff tiny bit into wonton - like less than 1/2 a teaspoon, fold it up anyway you want, and deep fry em. Tip: Try to flatten the meat out a bit - if the ball of stuffing is too tightly packed together, the wonton might become charcoal and yet the middle of the ball is not cooked. Hot oil is essential but not tooo hot.




garlic prawn and chives:

Step 1:
Scald the chopped chives in salted boiling water

Step 2:
Plonk in at least 4 tablespoons butter - yes I know, sinful... but so good.
Add about an entire clove of garlic, which has been minced. I like plenty of garlic in mine.

Step 3:
Sautee garlic for a while, then add in the prawns (which should be deveined.

Step 4:
Remove prawns after they curl up. Dump in chives and mix with the garlic butter remnants in pan. Salt to taste.

Step 5:
Return the prawns and serve up!


Njoy!

Gnat

Just finished this book, and also bought the Kitchen Diaries by the same author - which is a record of what he ate for a year, plus recipies of course. Toast is a different sort of book, more memoir, unless you really want to assemble food from packets and tins (it was the 60s). The chapters are organised by food items, many of them sweet treats, and it is a rather sad book of his childhood. His mum is a bad cook who often burnt toast, but it is still the "best toast in the world''. After she dies, his dad remarries their cleaning woman (so much for The sound of Music - remarriage for the kids is not as easy as these films make out). So even though the house is filled with the smell of ham steaks and pies, it is the loneliness that comes through most.