Playing with food...by Necessity

While it can be both healthy and fun to make a meal from scratch, there are some times when the idea of planning and executing a meal seems just too much. Our family has had just such a situation lately and I thought I would share it since, let's face it, we all live very busy lives these days.

We own two rental properties, one of them a World War II duplex that was our first home in Historic Hilton Village. When the latest tenant moved out, we decided to make some improvements to the house, and to remain within the budget, it required that all the interior painting be done by our sweat equity labor so our days and weekends have been taken up by scraping, patching, priming and painting, leaving not a lot of energy at the end of the day for cooking (and no time to go grocery shopping!) Combine this with very hot weather and you have the perfect basis for one of those "what do you want?... No, what do you want?" evenings.

One night we had egg salad sandwiches, another night I made tuna salad on a bed of sliced avocados and Roma tomatoes, but last night, we wanted some "real food". Unfortunately, my husband, since I started this blog, just says "make something up,... it will be good" No pressure.

So I took a package of boneless skinless chicken thighs, and inspired by a lemon-caper chicken I once made I took what I had... and renovation chicken was the result! I hesitate to call this a recipe since I didn't measure anything, I just kept tasting until the dish had the flavor I wanted. Because I also had no energy to do dishes, this chicken dish took one pan. As I said, I used what I had on hand so you could change the recipe based on what you had in you fridge, and it would still be good. If I did this again (on purpose) I would serve it with some crusty bread, since the pan juices were great for "sopping" (Sorry, I'm a Southerner!)

Play with Food "Renovation Chicken"

1 pkg boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 5)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium yellow squash

1/2 cup drained sundried tomatoes

1 cup marinated artichoke hearts

1/2-2/3 cup of white wine

2 tablespoons capers

1 small can sliced mushrooms (I told you that is what I had, you could use fresh!)

2-3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Put oil in large frying pan, add garlic and chicken pieces. Brown chicken on both sides then add all the vegetables. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add wine, salt and pepper. Cover and let simmer another 10 minutes. Add lemon juice and cook another 5 minutes. Taste and check seasoning. Serve with a delicious crusty bread. A delicious and easy one-pan meal!!

Restoran TK Chong, Damansara Perdana

SF told me about TK Chong ages ago, but somehow, luck was never on my side.. It was always closed when we decided to pop over for a meal..:-(

Luck was finally on our side some months back, when we decided to pop over. Though it was a quiet sunday at a quiet area, TK Chong was packed to the brim! Nonetheless, we managed to get seats very quickly and ordering was fast too.

SF had the dry version whilst SL and I ordered hor fun soup..

I usually dont take dry hor fun as I find the oyster sauce too thick and salty.. But TK Chong's version is different..Their oyster sauce was light and aromatic, not salty.. Their hor fun was silky smooth, gliding down my throat as I slurp it down. Top with lots of shredded chicken and prawns, this is one lip smacking plate of hor fun.

The hor fun soup was delicious too. The broth is thick and sweet; the hor fun with it's velvety texture and abundance of shredded chicken, prawns and spring onions, does wonders to the tastebuds.

We had a side of white chicken which was scrumptious!The chicken was so, so smooth; the oyster sauce had just the right saltiness and thickness. I was gobbling this down, guarding it closely, secretly hoping that SF and SL would eat less of this..hehe. If it was served warm, this would be perfect.

Alas, there must be a gripe somewhere..no? Well, it was not that bad, just that the prawn wantan were really mediocre after comparing it to the tasty horfun and white chicken..I would gladly trade this for another dose of horfun..

Restoran TK Chong is located at No. 5-1, Jalan PJU8/51, Perdana Business Centre, Damansara Perdana.

Fatty Mee Hoon Kuih @Taman Berkerley, Klang

Jane wanted me to try this for sometime already..

She said that they serve very, very smooth mee hoon kuih (flat dough torn to small pieces and cooked in soup) and that I should try it..

We did managed to make our way to Klang one fine day, slightly before 12 noon as Jane said it'll be freaking pack if we risk going there a little later....

Guess luck was on our side, managed to get a seat almost immediately although it was full house. Ordering was prompt and the wait was not too long (maybe 15 minutes?)

So, we had the piping hot mee hoon kuih placed at our table, beckoning us to eat it...

The mee hoon kuih obviously lived up to expectations, it was extremely smooth (Jane had a hard time picking it with her chopstick..hehe), practically glides down my throat . Though it was smooth and slippery on the exterior of the dough strips, the interior was still firm and perfect to the bite..al dente.. The soup was very delicate, sweet flavours from the boiled pork, preserved veg and crunchy anchovies, and a hint of green from the choy sum. The pork was very tender, the sprinkling of fried shallots was a nice touch too. For those who find this too bland, their spicy chilli sauce will definitely tickle (or maybe burn) your tastebuds...

Fatty Mee Hoon Kuih is located at 19, Lebuh Bangau, Taman Berkeley, 41150 Klang.

Cooking the Books- Episode 1

So many bloggers write about the newest and greatest cookbooks and from visiting many sites, I know that many of you have large cookbook collections. I am actually encouraged to read that others have the same problem that I do when it comes to cookbooks- I have a hard time getting rid of them. Whether they were bought or ordered by me, given to me as a gift, or unloaded by a non-cooking friend trying to clear off their shelves, my house is like the Hotel California of cookbooks...no matter how or when they come in, " they can never leave. "(picture to right is one of 10 shelves of books I have!)

Now, why is it that we have a hard time getting rid of cookbooks, even the ones we do not use? I can understand hanging on to the spill-stained, dog-eared cookbooks that we used when first learning to cook, and the cookbooks that we use everyday, looking for inspiration, or the brand new cookbooks with the latest trends, or the ones with sentimental value because they were given as a gift, but what about the rest? The cookbooks bought on a whim, the ones your friend gave you when she moved because she didn't have enough room for her collection, the vintage cookbooks picked up at a tag sale or from your public library's book sale, why can't we just give them away? My theory is that to a dedicated "foodie" (I hate that word!), these cookbooks are like foster children. We have brought them into our family because they represent some connection, whether personal, culinary, or sentimental. We have them because they stirred something in us and they represent a promise, a potential... maybe I can be a bread-baker, or a pie-maker, or a sushi chef. I could cook for celebrities, or a mafioso (Sopranos Cookbook), a wedding, or a great cocktail party. Maybe one day I will have time to make my own croissants, or puff pastry, Beef Wellington, or homemade pasta.

So what do these ramblings about cookbooks have to do with this post? I decided that it was time for my foster children to get up and get a job! Once a month I will write about one of the cookbooks I have on my shelves and make a recipe from it for a post. These will not be the "hot" cookbooks that you see on the pages of Amazon and B&N, there are enough foodies who already do a great job of reviewing new and emerging cookbooks (and encouraging us to add to our cookbook famlies!) I am going to pull out the ones that still have their dust covers, the specialty cookbooks, the ones from chefs before they were celebrities. I want to see what the connection was that made be bring them home to begin with. If the spark is still there, I will keep it, but if not, the cookbook will be making room for.... well, lets face it, probably a new cookbook!

Toad-in-the-Hole

Adapted from A Treasury of Great Recipes by Mary and Vincent Price

This cookbook chronicles the international travels and dining experiences of Vincent Price(for you Generation X-ers, he was the narrator in Michael Jackson's Thriller video)and his wife Mary. From the Food Halls at Harods to The Four Seasons in New York to Thanksgiving at the Price's home, the cookbook is a tribute to fine food and enjoyment of food around the world. My in-laws gave me this book and it was the first gift I got from them, so besides being a great cookbook, it has a lot of sentimental value!

I make this recipe for a great breakfast dish, which is like a popover with sausage, and when my kids were little they loved the name! The original recipe calls for vienna sausages, but I use brown and serve sausage links, though any cooked link sausage would work. These are delicious with a pat of butter, and a light alternative to heavier breakfast foods! This recipe makes a dozen muffin-sized treats, but you could also do this as a casserole

12 cooked or brown and serve link sausages

nonstick spray with flour

1 scant cup of flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup milk

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sift flour into a bowl with salt. Stir in milk. In another bowl beat eggs until frothy, and then beat eggs into batter. Let batter stand about 30 minutes. Spray muffin tin with nonstick spray with flour (this will let them rise really high!) Place one sausage in each muffin cup (I sometimes slice them so that there is sausage in each bite!) and then pour batter over sausage and fill about 2/3 full. Bake for 10-15 minutes until batter is browned and puffy. Serve with butter and/or maple syrup. ("Toads" will fall after you take them from the oven, so don't panic!)

Sugimoto@Desa Sri Hartamas, KL

I got to know about Sugimoto last year when eric told me about a japanese restaurant that serves good japanese food but is rather costly. However, their set lunches are very reasonable, just that I'm not working near there, hence didnt get to try it...

I did go to Sugimoto for dinners a couple of times, and finally, recently, remembered to bring my camera along..hehe

I cant really remember the names of the food we have ordered, I shall try my very best to name and describe it..;)

We had Kinoko garlic to snack on... Sliced mixed mushrooms cooked with garlic, butter and pepper. Squeeze that lil lemon to give this dish a slightly refreshing flavour. This is just ok for me though, as I feel the chef was way too generous with the pepper..

SF ordered the Kamameshi set (RM35)...

The rice (with ingredients) are served to you in a metal pot. You'll need to wait for the rice to cook for about 15 mins before you can dig in...

Tahdah! Nasi sudah masak! (rice is cook) Mix it up like claypot rice, and it's ready to eat. This set was alright, but I preferred the other kamameshi with chicken and egg (i think) which was really tasty..

The Hokkaido and Nabeyaki set (RM35) was quite a large serving.. The salmon was really fresh; the rice at the bottom sure was tasty with the mix of salmon roe and tuna flakes as accompaniment..The noodles on the other hand, was smooth and lovely to slurp it down with the warm soup. Simple but tasty dish..

Wanted to try something different during this visit, we had the Kamo Jyu Jyu.. well, if I had the name wrong, this is how it looks like..

Slices of raw duck meat topped with mustard sauce to be cook in the mini pan provided.

The sliced breast meat looks yummy and we started cooking it immediately. Once cooked, you can have it plain or dipped in their sauce. It's tasty; strong flavours from the duck, tangy tart taste of the mustard makes this dish rather delectable..

Note though, avoid this dish if you're going to meet your hot date/ friends coz you'll smell of oil...

On my previous visit, we had the dragon roll which was really good. Decided to order another roll to try, hence the California eel roll. Such disappointment..

Just look at the presentation! I could not believe my eyes, they actually had the cheek to serve us this. We waited a long time for this as they've forgotten our orders and after the long wait, we got this sad looking stuff. Suffice to say, I didnt enjoy this roll...

Total bill was RM142

Sugimoto is located at 36-1 & 38-1, Jalan 27/70A, Desa Sri Hartamas, KL. Tel: 03-23001102

Ah Balling Peanut Soup, Singapore

Later we'll go Chinatown, ok? WF repeated incessantly

I'm not sure how many times she reminded me on that until we were nicely seated at the stall later that night. We were in Chinatown to have the tong yun (glutinous rice ball dessert) that WF have been craving and raving about..

So what's so special? Why die-die must try?

Just different, WF replied, still unwilling to reveal the secret..

Ah Balling sells tong yun with 4 fillings, the traditional peanut, black sesame, red bean and the slightly unusual yam filling. Most unfortunately for us, it was nearing 10pm and they're only left with peanut and black sesame filling...:-(

Though there's a queue at the stall, business is brisk and we got our tong yun real fast..

So, this was the secret that WF was guarding so closely..hehe Ah Balling serves tong yun with sweet peanut soup rather than the conventional ginger soup. The peanuts were boiled till really soft, quite smooth but too sweet for me after a while..

Took my first bite into the tong yun and...Must say that the peanut tong yun is delicious, the peanut filling was pratically oozing out while I tried my best to snap a picture of it. Although it's creamy, there were still some crunchiness to it, from the crushed peanuts and sugar. Love this.

The black sesame was pretty good too.. Still oozes out after a bite, the filling is thicker, slightly coarser in texture. It is fragrant and not too sweet, which I'm glad of. Prefer the peanut filling better though.

Guess I'm still a sucker for traditional stuff, though this version of tong yun is quite nice, I'd still prefer mine served with hot, spicy ginger soup! ;p

Ah Balling Peanut Soup is located at Chinatown, Singapore. The section in Chinatown where there's a long row of stalls selling local food.

Cool salad for a hot day!

What to eat when it's 95 degrees outside and 60 percent humidity?! I know when I get home the in the dog days of summer, the last thing I want to think about is cooking. I don't know about you, but the hotter it gets the less I want to eat... finding something that is light, healthy and appeals to heat-wilted taste buds is a bit of a challenge. I find that in summer we often choose a protein that can be cooked on the grill (avoid heating up the kitchen) and a large salad.

For me, making a salad that has surprising and different flavors is a challenge and you know I love the opportunity to play with food. This led to my previously posted roasted beet salad, which is a rich and delicious salad that can become a main dish. The down side is that beet-roasting takes about 45 minutes of oven time, which is not that appealing during June in Hampton Roads. So I have had to experiment with some new twists on salads to keep my family interested and I am going to let you in on the results of my experimentation so you can escape the heat of the day with a cool salad. These are less recipes than formulas for a salad that is a delicious respite on these hot days. So grab some greens... and go!

Tex-Mex Salad

2 heads romaine or iceberg lettuce, torn into pieces

1 large tomato, diced

1/2 red onion chopped

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

4 ounces cheese cut in chunks (pepper jack, cheddar, queso fresco are all good choices)

1 cup corn kernels (fresh are great (good use for leftover corn on the cob) but canned or frozen work well too), drained

Toss all ingredients together. If you have leftover chicken or other meat, you could add to make the salad heartier but with the cheese and beans, no meat is needed. I serve this with a dressing made of 1/2 cup of ranch dressing mixed with 1 teaspoon of taco seasoning mix (I know it's gauche, but my family loves it! You could toss a vinaigrette with cumin and smoked chipotle chili powder as an alternative)

Salad with Dried Blueberries

2 heads of butter lettuce (I love the delicate taste of this), torn into pieces

2 whole ripe pears (if you can find them) peeled and sliced or 1 can pear slices, drained

4 ounces goat cheese or blue cheese (my personal favorite, but brie would also be great) broken into pieces

1/4 cup broken walnuts

1/2 cup dried blueberries

Dressing

1/2 cup mayonnaise (light is fine)

1/4 cup raspberry vinegar

1 tsp sugar or 1 packet of Splenda (for diabetic husband)

Toss all salad ingredients. Shake all ingredients together until smooth. Toss salad with dressing.

You could make a simple raspberry vinaigrette for this but the creaminess of this dressing with the acidic kick of raspberry vinegar is delish!

Ayam Penyet Ria, Singapore

I was in Singapore for the Great Singapore Sale a couple of weeks back..

Since looking for bargains was my main motive of being there, the search for good food sort of fade away...

Luckily for us, adeline's sister is working in Singapore and I bugged her for some decent food in Orchard road..

What about ayam penyet? she said
Ayam pen...what? Whatever, as long it's good..
And off we went, towards Lucky Plaza a place akin to Sungai Wang..

As we took the escalator to higher floors, I was starting to doubt if there's any food at all.. Took a left turn, then another left, and we see this. There were people queueing outside and it was full house. And it's just 6:45 pm. Gosh..

Got our seats promptly and we ordered...

Keropok udang and emping malinja (malinja crackers)for snacking.. Pretty good as it's freshly fried...

Next, the Sayur Asam (indonesian sour soup) was served...I must say that this soup is definitely acquired taste as I thought it tasted different. There were peanuts, cabbage, long beans, salted vegetables, some other preserved stuff that I cant really identify all thrown into the soup. It's sour but at the same time very sweet. I really cant find the words for it. Just weird. I didn't like it.

Finally, we got our Ayam Penyet..

Ayam penyet literally means smashed chicken, in this case, the meat was tenderised using hammer. It's then deep fried, served with sides of fried bean curd, tempe, some raw vegetables and a generous amount of fiery sambal. The chicken was very tender, juicy and crunchy. Extremely tasty, we were also given a bottle of thick, sweet dark soy sauce (lookalike) that's really addictive. I drizzled it all over the chicken, on my rice. yummy. The sambal was very tasty too, fragrant but very very spicy! Set my mouth (and belly) on fire!

For drinks, we ordered Teh Botol Sosro (Indonesian Iced Tea). I didn't take a picture of that as it looks like any ordinary iced tea. But, by golly, that is one of the most funky, vile stuff I've ever drank!! Tasted so bad, and it lingers!! Tasted like tea mixed with 2 week old coconut oil washed off from someone's hair. eeeewwww. Our total bill was SGD31

I noticed lots of people ordering Pecel Lele (fried catfish). Must be good too. Ayam Penyet Ria also serves Empal Penyet (smashed beef steak), Ikan Bawal Penyet (smashed pomfret), Udang Penyet (Fried prawns) and other indonesion dishes.

Ayam Penyet Ria is located at 304 Orchard Road, Lucky Plaza #04-25/26. Tel: +6562357385.

Too far for you? There's a Ayam Penyet shop in PJ too, check out Boo's post on it. It does not serve the addictive sweet, thick dark soy sauce though :-(

Kedai Makanan dan Minuman Wong Kee, Pudu

You must try the siew yoke at Wong Kee! I told CW some 9 months back as he is a pork lover.

It's sooo, sooo good! I exclaimed, though I didnt have it for a few years already..

So, while the cat's away, the mouse will play..

In this case, my boss was not in recently, I managed to convince CW and Bernice to have Wong Kee's famous siew yoke (roasted pork). It was rather early when we reached Wong Kee, we still had the luxury to choose our seats..

Ordering was prompt, waiting was rather long though...

After some time, craning our necks, checking on the busy owner busily chopping away, we finally have the plate of siew yoke.My goodness, I had to do a double take as it looks like it was glowing!! *background music: hallelujah! hallelujah! hallelujah!...* :-D

Though the breathtaking siew yoke was sitting there looking all pretty, beckoning us to eat it..We did not have our rice yet! The wait was excrutiating :-(

Bernice and CW attacked the siew yoke the moment we get our cutleries. Silence ensued..

I took a bite of piece of siew yoke....

Tasted terrific. The skin was crunchy; meat was tender and juicy; the fats, pratically melts and glides down my throat. The most amazing thing was, the siew yoke was still warm, even to the last piece. Drizzled with that sauce...The combination is just...Potent...

So, how was it? I asked, after witnessing CW and Bernice gobbling down the siew yoke..

This is The best siew yoke I've ever tasted, CW exclaimed. When are we coming again? he asked, while eating the last piece of siew yoke

I looked at Bernice. SC, I dont eat siew yoke at all. Always thought it tasted porky. But this..this! I'm bringing my hubby this saturday!

Guess I've converted Bernice ;-)

Our total bill was RM39, not cheap at RM12 per siew yoke strip, but man, it's worth every ringgit of it... :-)

Kedai Makanan dan Minuman Wong Kee is located 30, Jalan Nyonya (off Jalan Pudu), 55100 KL. Tel: 03-2145 2512. Operating hours: 11.30am - 2.30pm (Closed on Sundays).

Restoran Talipon, Kuchai Lama

I've always heard that Restoran Talipon is a place that serves cheap all-you-can-eat steamboat buffet at RM18.80.

Somehow, never had the urge to go until one fine day, gary was feeling really carnivorous and he wanted meat. Lots of it. ._."

So off we went to Talipon, rather early actually, just before 7pm and it's already packed with customers. We took our seats and soon, was off to take some food to cook..

The selection was ok, marinated meat, some seafood, lots of balls ( fish balls, sotong balls, veg balls etc..hehe), vegetables, desserts and cooked food section (ie, fried bee hoon, curry chicken, finger food etc).

Gary had his fill with loads of meat for grilling While Candy and me took other stuff for the steamboat..Slather the hot pan with margerine and cook, cook, cook! The pan was very hot, so the meat was cook quite quickly...The steamboat (pot?) on the other end, took it's sweet time to boil....sigh..We had to wait quite a while for the steamboat food to cook, luckily there were some side snacks/ dishes we could eat while waiting..

Though food was abundant, I find the food quality just mediocre. The only thing I enjoyed was the bak kwa and lamb which I had loads.. But then again, it's RM18.80, what can I say? Guess this will be the place for very hungry-feeling carnivorous-dont mind the quality-average tasting food customers. Quite a mouthful eh? ;p

Restoran Talipon is located at Old Klang Road. Drive pass Pearl Point (on your right) until you reach the next traffic light. Turn right, drive on (road goes slightly uphill). You will see Restoran Talipon on your left, just before a traffic light junction.

Salted Chicken, Ipoh

This is so famous, I should not be writing about it at all..

But then again, this was the reason why we stopped by Ipoh, to buy this much sought after chicken..

Yes, by now you know I'm talking about the famed Aun Kheng Lim salt baked chicken. Tourists and locals come to AKL to pack boxes and boxes of this delicacy; in fact, on some days, business is so good that you need to contact them 1 day in advance to place your orders, else, they wont serve you at all (as walk in customer). Rather ridiculous eh?

Anyways, we managed to buy this chicken without prior booking; the boxes of chickens were still nice and warm..The salt baked chicken is basically cooked as described in it's name; the marinated chicken is wrapped with layers of paper and baked in sea salt. The chicken is extremely juicy, very tender and had the warm embrace of herbs and salt; which still lingers in your mouth after the first bite. Though it's very tasty, I'm not a big fan of salt, hence, I did find the chicken too salty for me after a while. My friends love it though..All of them are very ham (in Cantonese)..hehe. The salt baked chicken costs RM16 per box.

Restoran Aun Kheng Lim is located at 24, Jalan Theatre, 30300 Ipoh, Perak. Tel: 05-2542998.

Competition Kitchen (or NFL for cooks!)

Summer's here and along with barbecue, and Dave Lebovitz's ice cream, it is time for competition in the kitchen. Whether you like the urbane Top Chef, the commercial The Next Food Network Star, or the R-rated Hell's Kitchen, this is like the NFL playoffs for foodies! And I have to say that I like them all (If I watch them all, I'll have no time to cook...) At least if we have to be subjected to reality TV, it is great that some of it takes place where a lot of our reality happens... in the kitchen!

Since Top Chef comes on at 10 PM, I rarely get to see it, but I take advantage of the weekend marathons while I am cleaning up or folding laundry (or blogging).This is actually one cooking competition show where home cooks can learn something and get ideas. I love the approach to cooking competition on this show, because it is meant as a growth opportunity for the contestants as they are weeded out and most of the drama comes from the challenges, not from back-biting (though there is some of that) or histrionics. And where but Bravo could you see a challenge where the contestants had to each cook a dish that represented each of the seven deadly sins?!

The Next Food Network Star is a more commercial cooking competition with a focus as much on personality as food, since the winner will actually get his or her own Food Network show. Now I know there are a lot of people out there who think the Food Network is like TV culinary junk food, but it has created interest in home cooking in the generation of X-Box and I-Pod, because it makes cooking accessible for cooks of all experience and skill. For that, they get my kudos.

That brings me to Gordon Ramsey and Hell's Kitchen. It seems so appropriate that Gordon is on in the summer since it is h-o-t in his kitchen. Watching this show is a lot like slowing down to stare at an auto accident- you know what you see might be painful and someone may be hurt, but you can't stop watching. And Gordon Ramsey... honestly, I think Beelzebub would be easier on aspiring chefs. He uses the f-bomb enough to be a headliner on Death Row records! The redeeming factor in this show for me is to see people who are really passionate about cooking and food pulling out all the stops and enduring constant abuse to realize their dream. I always root for the fry cook or a line cook from the Waffle House (kind of like being a Redskins fan!)

So get yourself a perfect scoop of ice cream, and when it gets too hot in the kitchen or out by the grill , get the remote, and settle in for a long hot summer in the competition kitchen!