Salads and Vegetables

Spiced Roasted Squash

December 2, 2010 7shasha7

For some reason or other, I like to try Jamie Oliver’s recipes. Maybe because they’ve worked before and I like his style of cooking. I suppose what the Malay moms would call ‘masak campak-campak’. ;p

I tried this recipe last year when I invited my mom and aunts for lunch and today, decided to roast them again. The last few times I made, The Hubby tried only a bit and refused to eat anymore. This time round, it’ll be more worth it because The Helper loves pumpkins.

The recipe is:

A few weeks ago, I went to Borders and bought this…

IMG00431-20101202-0900 — They sold the star shaped measuring spoons too!

IMG00428-20101202-0858 — Clean and cut pumpkin into wedges.

IMG00434-20101202-0912 — Crush all spices and salt and then add olive oil.

IMG00437-20101202-0915 — Brush over pumpkins and then cook.

IMG00441-20101202-1222 — What I meant was cook by roasting them in the oven till tender. The skin will be so soft that you can eat the skin together with the flesh.

Something different to serve than the usual mashed potatoes. Try it!

Salads and Vegetables

Baby Xiao Bai Cai in Oyster Sauce

November 14, 2010November 14, 2010 7shasha7

I love my greens. I never realised how much I love them until I had to go to Chennai with my school a couple of years ago. ;p

This is one vegetable that the whole family loves, including The Little Girl. And of course, dead easy to make. Simple and fuss-free, my modus operandi in the kitchen.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — After completely cleaning the greens (there's a lot of grit in between the small stems), fry minced garlic, and once golden, add the vegetables. Add oyster sauce ( about a tablespoon) and white pepper.

Egg Salad Sandwich

October 10, 2010 7shasha7

Growing up, my mother loved to pack for me egg sandwiches for recess. Every school excursion without fail, I’ll have these sandwiches for my break. Needless to say, because of this, the very first few things I learnt to make was ‘egg sandwich’. Besides, it’s so easy to make and so tasty.

I learnt to make these using margarine, salt and white pepper.

Then, recently I watched a show on the Food Network and Ina Garten made these egg salad sandwiches for lunch. What amazed me was that she used a food processor to mash up the eggs – all 12 of them. She added mayonnaise and fresh dill.

I used her recipe the next time I made an egg sandwich sans the food processor bit. I used a fork instead. Ha. Also, I didn’t use fresh dill but the dried one. It tasted good.

Asian Dishes, Salads and Vegetables, Sides

Pacheri Nenas (Pineapple Relish)

October 10, 2010 7shasha7

I invited my colleagues for the first time to my house for Raya. I cooked, for the first time in my life, Pilav Rice, following loosely a recipe I found in my mother’s Indian Cookbook and the Internet.

Pacheri Nenas can be found at almost every Malay wedding. I love this to bits because it really cuts the richness of the other Malay dishes i.e. the rice, the sambal chicken, the sambal goreng.

Traditionally, one would use fresh pineapples. However, one can also use tinned pineapples. Of course, I used the latter.

In a pan, fry in a little bit of oil, cardamoms, cinnamon sticks, cloves. Add sliced onions. Add a bit of turmeric and chilli powder and then pineapples. Mix well and then add a little bit of sugar and cut red/green chillies. I used chilli padi instead.

Interestingly, the pacheri nenas was a hit with my colleague’s sons. 😀 They ate it with such aplomb that I feel like making again as a gift for the sons during the holidays.

Salads and Vegetables, Sides

Crispy Mushrooms

October 7, 2010 7shasha7

I saw at NTUC one day those cheap packets of shitake mushrooms from China. I know I should really cut down on China-made fresh produce but I love mushrooms and mushrooms are expensive. Anyway, the ones that I saw were small ones instead of the rather large ones in the bag.

Back in the kitchen, I poured equal amounts of plain and rice flour and then mixed with cold water. Then I dumped the mushrooms in and fried them till crisp. And crisp they were. After which, liberally sprinkle salt over. Mmmmm…

Ah, who can resist mushrooms, especially when fried crisp. By now, you should know that, due to a lack of patience and maybe skills, I only make easy peasy recipes so anyone can try them! Go ahead, I know you want to try making these lovely morsels of goodness… 😉