zucchini

this week, i cooked up a quick "Jeyuk-bokkeum" [Korean pork stir fry with chilli bean paste]

to have with kimchi and kangkung.

 we got given a huge zucchini [above!] so i used it in a quiche below. We also had zucchini rice porridge, zucchini pizza and zuchinni slice.

 below, some of the mush that Jo gets for dinner - pureed apple, pureed chicken with tomatoes and oats, and mashed raspberries in greek yoghurt. He refuses to drink from his sippy cup so i feed him water using a spoon.

shortcut char siu

 The maple syrup scone recipe from this book is awesome! also i love this book's photography. They were so buttery and crumbly, it was almost like eating shortcrust pastry.

 We usually buy a pork leg roast then divide it into 4-5 portions to freeze. The fatty parts from this one we made into char siu. The seasoning was from a packet from Thailand.It was quite good! tasted as good as any char siu i've ever had in malaysia. perhaps better coz I sliced ours more generously! 

Very easy as well - mix the powder with some water and marinade the pork for at least 3 hours. [I just left it in it overnight] then roast it and slice it up.

a typical night's dinner  -  rice with a vegetable dish, a meat dish and soup.

special fried rice at Kelantan Delights

Every time I come here there are people waiting for their takeaway orders of the special fried rice ($11.50). I generally don't order fried rice when I'm out since we often make it at home using whatever leftovers we have, but I finally decided to see what so great about it. I was not disappointed! It's freshly stir fried after the order is taken and arrives at the table smoking hot, with a fragrant omelette on top with crisp browned edges. Each bit of chicken, rice or vegetable is nicely "wok caramelized" and I had no trouble polishing off the whole plate.

I asked the chef why their roti canai was so popular, he says it's because each serve is freshly made after the order is taken, not cooked from a frozen state.



Kingston Plaza Channel Hwy  Kingston TAS 7050, Australia

chinese new year

We managed to recreate a Chinese Malaysian Lunar new year feast quite well I think...! the only things we didn't have were firecrackers and bad karaoke.

even this little man got dressed up in red!

summer

 I made this light, refreshing "creme caramel" using agar agar instead of eggs. really nice without the guilt! of course it's not as rich and creamy as the real thing but good for a change.

This is a japanese inspired dinner for the hubby- rice, with stir fried greens, fried chicken, simmered radish and vegetable soup.

crab dumplings

A package of wonton skins had been sitting in our fridge for months now and I thought i really should do something with them - so i stuffed them with some canned crabmeat mixed with shredded carrot and seasonings and steamed some, and stuffed some with the same filling and shredded cheese, sprayed them with olive oil and baked them. The steamed ones turned out alright but the baked ones were too dry. Canned crabmeat does not taste like crab at all! It was just..like flavourless flakes of crab meat. I suppose you get what you pay for! Still, I thought they were yummy enough.

Christmas food

hope you've all had a good christmas! We didn't really plan anything but I was pleased to have been invited to lunch and we didn't even have to prepare anything! We just showed up and enjoyed ourselves.

 the usual Christmas feasting began ystd with prawn cocktail and crackers with bad jokes in them.....

 the obligatory ham...and various sides.

 here's my plate on the first round - turkey, stuffing, ham and lamb...and veggies. i went back for 2 more helpings...

our hosts also showed off his coffee making skills with his new coffee machine....

Jo had heaps of fun with the turkey bone - he held it, waved it around, banged it on the floor and chewed on it with his gums. who'd have thought he'd have so much fun with something we'd throw away?

how was your Christmas?