Happy 55th Birthday Mom!

It was a memorable weekend & I'd the priviledge to cook dinner for my mom's 55th birthday. Nothing fancy - just good ol' family dinner together. Nothing beats cooking for the special person in your life. I knocked off early from work last Friday & not really knowing what to cook till I reached the market place.

Menu for mom's birthday:
Herbal Chicken
Buttered Prawn
Pak Choy with Dried Scallops
Fried Trevally (ikan putih) with Dark Soy Sauce

Mum asked me how much did it all that cost. I replied her, "RM1 for every year of your birthday." Not much of a cost but then again, it's priceless moments that I'll always cherish.

Merdeka Month - August

Finally, I managed to get something uploaded & it has been awhile. Well, you can say that August is a blog free month since I haven't added anything which doesn't mean I haven't been cooking. Perhaps too much cooking that I couldn't be bothered to add anyhing new & cooking the same recipe every other week due to popular domestic demand:

1. Curry Chicken with lady's finger
2. Curry Chicken with brinjal/eggplant/aubergine
3. Curry Chicken with long beans

Did plenty of pasta, kampua (Sibu), veggies, the usual stuff and it's getting very dry for my own liking.

But I've to say that "practice makes perfect". I learnt how to mix my own curry powder for my curry meals. Coriander (ketumbar), curry powder, chili powder, fennel (jintan manis), cumin (jintan putih) as part of my curry mixtures.

Another aspect of cooking that really caught my attention is the world of spices . I even bought a few packet of seeds (herbs/spices) to plant but that's as far as it gets. Guess I'll stick to cooking for now.

My reference for spices is by an Austrian guy, Gernot Katzer. He did an extensive researh on spices.

For the month of September, they should be lots of cooking.

Travelling Blues

Been buzy.
Travelling to Tawau & Sandakan the last few weeks.
Been eating lots of food outside.
Can't be avoided.

Seafood all over - Sabindo, Ocean King, etc. Frequent travellers & the locals would know what I mean. Nevertheless, nothing can stop me from being busy in the kitchen during the weekends.

I've always admire cooks who gets to travel & cook at the same time. It's the best job! I'd quit my day job for that anytime!

Wishful thinking.
Then again what's life without dreams?
It's like a dish without SALT.

I'd better start updating my cooking adventures!

Weak Hands over the Weekend

It wasn't the best weekend. I'd cough, fever, a bad headache, not to mention the constant shouting & ranting from my boys & vice versa. Despite not being in the best of health, I managed to do a couple of quick dishes for us.

Sometimes when one is sick, a unique taste is created by default cos the cook's tastebud isn't at its usual best. The food was nevertheless savoured with much appreciation, i.e. wiped out clean. It was probably the best feeling I've had over the weekend.

Final Say:
Service Industry is like a pregnant lady
cos no matter what happens,
they've to DELIVER.
Good thing my kitchen is only opened for
small service industry of family & friends :)

Imaginary Cooking

I'm now at KL International Airport waiting for my flight home. I've been here a couple of days for meetings & being away from the family does take a lot out of life, out of me. Somehow the thought of going home always puts a smile back on my face. The pots & pans may have missed me as well while I was gone :)

Whenever I'm on one of my biz trips, I'll tend to be analytical on most of the food that I've tried - from the 5 star hotel's kitchen, hawkers' corner, bistros, etc. But nothing beats home food cooking.

I could cook up a dish in my head while waiting for my sweet flight home & the good thing now is that KLIA offers FREE WIFI services.

My head is filled with assorted meats in black soy sauce (lean pork meat/duck slice/chicken). How & ways to do it? Well, I'd better save it for my journey which is 2 ½ hours & plenty of time to cook this dish up in the air.

Back in the real kitchen soon!

Therapeutical Cooking

Cooking makes me feel very relax, calm & collected. You can say it's a theraphy or could be an addiction! Well, that's what I call passion. When I do my little thing with the pots and pans, the rest of the world kinda stop until the occassional "I want to cook too!" from my boys. I'm sure they'll be cooking one day 'cos after all I got this cooking habit from my dad.

Been cooking plenty of dishes over the last few days. Shores of them on the next postings :)

Home Food Cooking

"If you have to eat 3 meals a day for the rest of your life, you might as well learn to cook for yourself " - Jamie Oliver.

The best food in the restaurants all over the whole is first served at home. From there it evolves to be served among relatives, friends and lastly to public. It's like a family business turning into a public listed company so to speak.

The irony of food and cook is that they both have "oo" in the middle of each respective word. My motto in cooking is simple: "A good cook cooks good food!"

Food is to be shared and what way to do this than from home. A family that eats together stays together and the recipe for happiness is HOME FOOD COOKING.

Well, there is more to it in cooking than you ever know.

Welcome to Pots and Pans by Chef Noeli!