Making Ice Cream

Yesterday, my hubby suddenly wanted to make ice-cream. After going to the pediatrician for the rotar virus and the last dose of Hepatitis B vaccination for my baby, we dropped by the supermarket and bought the ingredient such as milk, strawberry, and cream. When we arrived home, he immediately started to make the ice cream while I bathed both of my daughters. By the time we finished our lunch, my eldest daughter wanted to eat the ice cream already, although it was still not frozen yet, but who cares as it tasted good already. I love strawberry ice cream, especially the one that used real strawberry.

When I was a kid, there was this ice cream parlor place that my parents used to bring me every week. The table and chair were made of rattan and there was no air con, only ceiling fans. It’s a simple place but the taste of the ice cream was wonderful. It’s so delicious that I never get enough of it.

The last time I went back home with my hubby, we visited that place again. Everything has remained the same although 30 years have already passed. The same style of furniture is still being used and even the waiter’s uniforms look the same. My hubby also fell in love with the taste of the ice cream. We visited my home country for 10 days and every day we went there for the ice cream.

Eating Crabs

On Sunday, after watching a cooking show where the host demonstrated how to cook crab dishes, my husband suddenly wanted to eat crab. He went to the market and bought 11 crabs. Out of 11 crabs, 5 of them were the type which had roe in them. He baked these 5 crabs and the rest, half he cooked with black pepper and the other half he cooked with sweet and sour sauce.

My favorite dish is the baked crab. I just love the sweet taste of baked plain crab and they just taste fresh and delicious. My favorite part is the shell where you can find all the tasty juicy innards and roe.

I gave my eldest daughter a bit of the roe and the flesh, and she said: Hmmmmm, nice. However, when I asked her whether she wants some more she said: No Thanks (It means that she doesn’t like it). Oh well, I also didn’t like crabs when I was her age.

I am beginning to wonder, when we were kids and we could eat all these yummy high cholesterol food, why we didn’t like it, but when we older and are not suppose to eat so much of it, we enjoy it.

How To Reheat Rice In Microwave

Everyday, there is bound to be some leftover rice in the rice cooker after every meal when we eat at home. Normally I just put the leftover rice in the fridge and microwave it the next morning for breakfast. If reheated correctly, reheated rice can taste just as fresh as when it was newly cooked. The following is the method how I reheat rice in the microwave oven.

How to reheat rice in microwave:

When the rice is taken out from the fridge, the rice will normally be in the form of a lump according to the shape of utensil which you stored it in, and it is also very dry in texture. The lump of rice needs to be broken apart with a fork.

The next step is to pour water onto the rice and mix both the rice and water gently. Don’t use too much water, use just enough to dampen the rice.

Next microwave the rice until it is to the temperature of your liking. If the rice is still very dry, you can add more water and continue to microwave it again.

When it is done correctly, your rice should be as fresh and nice as the hour you cooked it

Rice

My mother in law cannot sleep at night if she didn’t eat rice for dinner. She doesn’t mind eating western food or any other food. She is adventurous enough to try different kind of food, but she must eat rice before she sleeps.

Rice is a staple food in many cultures and an essential element in the regional dishes of many nations. In my house rice is a must. Cooking rice is the first thing I do in the morning. I like my rice fluffy with a nice fragrant smell.

There are so many choices of rice in the market. When selecting rice in the market, make sure that you can see the rice through the clear packaging. Normally I choose rice that is clear and translucent.

Choose Your Favorite Recipe and Win A Trip To New Orleans

Chef John Currence from Mississippi won the competition at the 2008 Fifth Annual Great American Seafood cook off! He beat out 14 other prestigious chefs from across the nation to be crowned King of American Seafood.

Since the judges already casted their votes, now it’s our turn to cast our votes. Go to www.greatamericanseafoodcookoff.com, and vote for your favorite recipe. By voting for your favorite recipe you stand a chance to win a "Trip to New Orleans" prize package which also includes two Southwest Airline roundtrip tickets, hotel accommodations, dining experiences and more.
There are 5 recipes there to choose from. As for me, my favorite recipe is Colorado Striped Bass Panzanella by Colorado’s chef, Paul Anders as I love fish. Fish is a source of protein and has a high quantity of good HDL cholesterol. Furthermore, his recipe looks simple enough for me to try. The main ingredient is Colorado Striped Bass, but I can always substitute it with any fresh fish that I can find in the market. I believe that in order to cook nice seafood dishes, we have to make sure that the source of the seafood is known, local and fresh.

This recipe also uses tomatoes, cucumbers, mint, basil, olives, ciabatta bread, crispy eggplant, aged balsamic vinegar and Tuscan olive oil. The most important part of this recipe is to use the freshest, ripest, produce you can find at your local farmer’s market or from your backyard garden. It is a simple dish using excellent ingredients. Reading the recipe itself has already made my mouth watery.

My Favorite Seafood Dish

I love to eat seafood dishes. When I was pregnant I was always craving for some seafood. To name one favorite seafood dish will be difficult. However, recently I ate some barbeque prawn, and I really love it. The prawn must be marinated the night before, put in the zip-lock bag then kept inside the fridge overnight so it can absorb all seasonings and spices.

Another seafood dish that I love to eat is seafood spaghetti, especially with fresh clams. This is my all time favorite dish. To cook this, the spaghetti should be cooked first before it is mixed and cooked together with the clams in white wine in a sauce pan, and supplemented with fresh chopped parsley. For additional taste I usually add some chopped bacon and dried chili. It’s simply delicious.

To cook nice seafood dishes, we have to make sure that the source is known, it is local and fresh

I think in the incoming Great American Seafood Cook Off, this dish would be a great contender for a Cook off. I would like to see a variation of this dish.

I am very excited to see this event, because I am a big fan of seafood dishes and I think this event brings out the positiveness of domestic seafood sustainability.

What is your favorite seafood dish? You can write about it in your blog with the recipe :)

Watermelon

My maternal grandfather loved to eat rice with watermelon. In fact everybody in the family (my mother side) loves it too. It’s our habit, I guess.

Now, my husband is from Malaysia. The first time I came for visit, it was durian season. I got a shock when I saw his mom ate durian with rice. She said, it’s not uncommon thing in there. When I told her that I preferred to eat rice with watermelon, it’s her turn to get a shock. I guess different country has different culture.

I saw this watermelon salad recipe in MSN today. Looks interesting, should try it one of these days.

Ingredient:
2 large red tomatoes, cut into 1-inch wedges (about 2 cups)
2 pounds watermelon, cut into 1/2- by 2 1/2-inch wedges
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced (about 1/4 cup)
3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground pepper
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, sliced

Directions:
Gently toss tomatoes, watermelon, cucumber, and onion together in a large bowl and set aside. Combine vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Pour vinaigrette over the watermelon mixture and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours. Sprinkle with basil and serve.

BBQ

Yesterday, we had a barbeque. We had chicken, beef, and prawn, also Garlic bread. It was my husband who did all the cooking. I just helped him ate them. It was very yummy.

I forgot to take photos, because I was busy eating. When it was over, then I realized that I had not taken any single photo yet. Only left the small prawn.

Tag: Food

Thanks to Denz Recreational for this tag.

1. Chicken sa McDo, Jollibee, or KFC?
- KFC
2. Pepsi, Coke, or rootbeer?
- Rootbeer for me
3. Greenwich, Pizza Hut, or Yellow Cab?
- Pizza Hut
4. Adobo, sinigang, or nilaga?
- Not familiar with this food
5. Beef, pork, or chicken?
- pork
6. Starbucks, Coffee bean and tea leaf, or Gloria Jean’s?
- Starbuks
7. Cornflakes, Honey Stars, or Milo cereal?
- Honey Stars
8. Goldilocks or Red Ribbon?
- Goldilocks.
9. Tokyo Tokyo, Teriyaki Boy or Rai Rai Ken?
- Teriyaki Boy
10. Take Out or Dine In?
- Dine In!

Tagging Katelove's, Anig, Joy Burlinson, Lovejoy, Ester, Sheng, You!

Banana Leaf Rice

I love to eat banana leaf rice. This was quite a surprise, as actually in the beginning I didn't like indian food at all, specially the one with curry. I could not stand the smell.

Now, I could not get enough of it. Even when I was pregnant and could not eat anything, banana leaf rice still my favorite food.

Last Sunday, me, my hubby and my older daughter went out to have banana leaf rice. This was my first after my 1-month confinement period.

Yummy!

Spaghetti with Clam (Vongole)

The spaghetti with clams are a Neapolitan dish based on pasta and clams. Based on a soffritto of garlic and olive oil in which the clams must be open to the lively fire in a large frying pan. After a few minutes clams open (if still alive) and issue a liquid that provide the sweet taste of this dish.

The spaghetti should be cooked first before mixed and cook together in a pan sauce of clams, and supplemented with fresh chopped parsley.

Yummy! This is my favourite dish. First time I ate this dish was when I was on my business trip to Sinapore. My boss invited me and our customer to eat in Italian restaurant and he recommend me to eat this dish.

Now, I can't cook. I don't like to cook. Although actually my day job is involving selling cookware. However, my husband can and love to cook. Thus, when he found out that I like this dish, he relentlessly looking for this vongole recipe. Finally, after watched a particular episod of Jamie Oliver cooking show, he tried the recipe, and I really love the taste. It's simple to cook and the result very yummy.

Chili

I like to eat rice with chili. In fact I can't have good appetite to eat if I don't put chili on my rice. I think this is the habit that start since I was small.

I still remember when I was small, my grandmother always put chili on my rice when I didn't have any appetite to eat. Then later, I can't eat without one.

Research in humans found that "after adding chili to the diet, the LDL, or bad cholesterol, actually resisted oxidation for a longer period of time, (delaying) the development of a major risk for cardiovascular disease".