Bento 301

It'a been a lonnnggggg while since my last post on Bento. Below is a simple lunch for #3.

Clockwise: ABC soup, piping hot rice topped with some sakura denbu (for color) and a box of chicken karaage and lots of grapes. You'll notice there are no vegetables because #3 doesn't eat them!


The "TIGER" flask all ready to go.

Of Birthdays and family

Last week, #3 turned 11 years old. We had a small family celebration in the midst of a everybody's busy schedule. Dad-in-law was in town and brothers-in-law too. Lots of men. (and a Holy man)

Mum and I planned the menu. As usual, mum has the last say and she very quickly eradicated my list of choices. In the end we had a braised duck, prawns and petai sambal, Ginger wine and chicken, braised pork, vegetables, pickled carrots, cucumbers and chillies, braised tongue and a pork bones and arrowroot soup.

My collection of bone china casseroles.


Braised tongue. Had raving reviews for this dish.


Mum braised duck for the first time and it was simply delicious.
A great cook always becomes a greater cook!


Sambal petai and prawns. Yummilcious!!



Dishes served...


"Death by Chocolate" by Just Heavenly.
Happy Birthday baby!

Julie Andrews shares @ 69

So, an anonymous comment in my inbox tells me that this article I received and published here was a hoax (thank you).
Apparently snopes.com debunked it ages ago.

Nonetheless, I like this parody of "My favorite Things" because I'm beginning to be able to relate to it. *Bleah*

Thanks Em for sharing!


It wouldn't be funny if it weren't so true... Julie Andrews turned 69 and to commemorate her 69th birthday on October 1, actress/vocalist Julie Andrews made a special appearance at Manhattan 's Radio City Music Hall for the benefit of the AARP. One of the musical numbers she performed was "My Favourite Things" from the legendary movie "The Sound Of Music."

Here are the actual lyrics she used:

Maalox and nose drops and needles for knitting,
Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up in string,
These are a few of my favourite things.

Cadillac's and cataracts, and hearing aids and glasses,
Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,
Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,
These are a few of my favourite things..

When the pipes leak, When the bones creak,
When the knees go bad,
I simply remember my favourite things,
And then I don't feel so bad.

Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions,
No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,
Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring,
These are a few of my favourite things.

Back pains, confused brains, and no need for sinnin',
Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin',
And we won't mention our short, shrunken frames,
When we remember our favourite things.

When the joints ache, When the hips break,
When the eyes grow dim,
Then I remember the great life I've had,
And then I don't feel so bad.

Ms. Andrews received a standing ovation from the crowd that lasted over four minutes and repeated encores.

Steam Boat dinner

Last night was one of those rare evenings we could have a long dinner together and not rush off for some appointment or other. I made some fish cake (the longish looking ones), the other two fish balls and mushrooms came from Jusco.


There was fresh squids, prawns and fish in the menu.


Delicious home made pork balls mixed with chopped prawns, more mushrooms and straw mushrooms.




Simply dunk into a hot pot of delicious stock.

Grocery shopping

If you haven't heard from me or I've yet to respond to your e-mail, know that I'm rushing around a lot lately. There are lots of runs and errands to catch up on.

Today was most fruitful though. Thanks Alice and Celia for all the effort to enable me to stock up my Japanese pantry.

Sometimes thing aren't the way it should be or look the way they should look or even seem the way they are expected to BUT so what! Life is too short to snort or get all hot to rot! Hahaha! I'm happy all the same.

My giant bag of Tuna Katsuobushi.


Frozen Unagi, Ebiko, Natto, Tako and a box of Chuka Iidako.



All the different sauces and condiments, teas and Japanese noodles, seaweed and rice (not in picture) necessary for cooking more Japanese dishes.

Updates!

Long absences and infrequent posts spell trouble for my blog. It's been despairingly neglected.

We've had guests over for dinner a couple of evenings. Between that, I've had to get my darling husband to show me the way to the new JLSM center. I have no idea how to get to Jalan Ipoh and it took three trips before I could find the place. *grin*

My dear friend Alice who moved to Japan permanently was back for about ten days and was facilitating an Obento class and we had scheduled to meet then. I really enjoyed her class and the company. It was fun meeting other 'students' passionate about cooking Japanese food.

I forgot my camera and had to use my hand phone camera. Obviously not a good option! I tried turning the picture around and saved it but it kept coming out on my post this way! Hmmmm...

Japanese vinegared egg yolk with crab stick and spinach

Simmered fried sanma fish curry

Strawberry and red bean roll

There was a second session in the afternoon but we were against time because some students arrived late. We were rushing and I forgot to take pictures. *sad face* Overall, both the sessions were interesting and new skills and tips were adopted.
Thank you Alice for the wonderful fellowship over lunch.


Random:
Below was lunch after my husband bought a bunch of petai from Pangkor Island. Yummy!

Home made Pasta

We eat a lot of pasta at home. It's easy to finish 6 boxes of 500g of pasta in a month, sometimes more even. I've tried making pasta a couple of times but never left me wanting to do more.

I was reading an old magazine and came across a simple recipe.

600 g high gluten flour

5 medium eggs


Mix and knead.


Allow to rest for at least 25 minutes.



Roll flat and wide.

Roll them together and cut to the size required.


Nicely falls over the knife when lifted up.

Nice pile of Fettuccini.

Made some Lasagna sheets too.

Freshly cooked Fettuccine. Fresh pasta took less than 5 minutes to cook till al dante.


Can't wait to try the Lasagna sheets!

Nothing tastes better than fresh pasta!
I think Barilla just lost a loyal customer.

Paella

Since I was still on a Spanish or Hispanic (from #2) dish experimental journey, I tried my hand at Paella. I Googled for Paella and found this recipe.

It looked simple enough and I did have a Paella pan which I had not broken into yet.

To break into the Paella pan, I first washed with soapy water and then dried it. Heated it over medium fire. After that I poured in some oil and rubbed it in. Heated it through for about 5-7 minutes and allowed it to cool down, then washed off the oil with warm soapy water. Ta-da! Paella pan ready for use.

Saute-ing the onions.


In went the red and green peppers.

The chicken cubes with salt and pepper.

In went the rice and liquids.


Added the prawns and crab meat (I improvised a little).

Okay truth be told, it wasn't as great as it should have been. Being first time doing this I thought that I had to cook it the way I cook our local 'one pot rice' and so I ended up with a little burnt bottom. BUT...it tasted pretty good or so from the feedback from my husband and #2. #1 wasn't very excited about it and opted to eat the optional white rice I cooked for 'just in case'.

Next time round I won't worry about 'cooking down' the liquids! I would also add more seafood and meats because my paella pan had 2 cups of rice and had a wee bit too little seafood and meats. One more thing, I like my peppers with a little crunch, perhaps they should also go into the pan later and with less saute-ing time. Till the next attempt...Buen provecho! (Bon Apetite!)

Alioli

Tomorrow night my two elder girls complete their 3 month Spanish classes at UTAR.
To celebrate, the class and lecturer decided to have a little fellowship. Obviously the theme is "Spanish food".

I searched for ideas on the internet and found "Bread with Mushrooms and Alioli", a tapa.
The recipe seemed simple and making mayo actually is my forte.

Ingredients

• 4 or 5 ounces mushrooms, stems removed and sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• A pinch of sea salt
  
• 1 teaspoon sherry wine
• Alioli (garlic
  
  mayonnaise)
• French bread, sliced into rounds

Preparation

Heat the olive oil in a pan that has a cover. When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms, salt and sherry. Cover, and lower heat. Cook until liquid is released from the mushrooms, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Toast bread slightly, just to dry it out a bit. Spread with alioli and top with mushrooms. Broil for about 30 seconds or until alioli starts to bubble.

I did some research on the internet for alioli and eventually concoted my own method.

This stone pestle is an "ancestral heirloom". It was my grandmothers and then passed to my mother's second sister and then my mother and finally became mine. It's a 'giant' of a stone pestle. I have 3 sizes and this is the largest.

There are about 10 garlic cloves in there.

The pestle is huge and heavy. *pound, pound, pound*


The first few drops of Extra Virgin Olive oil mixed in the crushed garlic.


Adding spoons full of Extra Virgin Olive oil.


Mix, mix and mix!


Managed to yield two bottles of Alioli.



Tastes fantastic! Can't wait to cook the mushrooms tomorrow now that the Alioli is done.

Bento 300

So I reached my 300th bento today. Thought I should take a break and buy my favorite meal instead. Lui Cha is basically lots of chopped veggies fried in dried prawns and garlic. Makes a healthy and hearty meal. Love the mint and basil concoction of tea leaves, peanuts, sesame seeds, etc.


Busy weekend ahead.

Bento 299

I was free mid day because classes were going to be long today. I made myself a bento.
Clockwise: Tonkatsu topped with mayo and tonkatsu sauce, steam rice, some more fried gyoza with dipping sauce and finely shred ginger and garlic tossed French beans and cherry tomatoes. Wow! What an awesome lunch!! The gyozaaaa...was delicious beyond words!!!



This Chicken and five vegetable dish was packed in a side dish. It's got lotus root, mushroom, carrrot, delicious Burdock, daikon and Konnyaku.

The Burdock is so, so delicious!!!

Lunch again

I brought home two boxes of Strawberries and before I could use them, almost 70% went soft and couldn't be used. So sad!!

The five I salvaged were wrapped with home made Anko for Mochi. I halved the strawberries and managed to yield 10 mochi.



The mochi was served as dessert for lunch yesterday.


Friends enjoyed a meal of Cha Soba and home made fried Gyozas.


Good friends and good food makes good company.