Dainty Bites

Have you ever gutted a fish before? Neither have I. Until today. When I was at the supermarket this afternoon, I saw a pair of fish packed and wrapped on styroform. They looked ultra fresh with their gleaming eyes and firm touch but the best part was that the pair was going for S$2.71! Maybe I would have gotten it even cheaper at the wet market, but this is cheap enough for me even attempt the whole fish myself. This was what I had whipped up this afternoon for lunch. Gutting the fish was not as terrifying as I thought it would be. Yes, I had to pull out all of the squishy innards of various shades of red. I wasn't quite sure what I was pulling out, but I managed to remove everything inside. Thank goodness! The whole process took less than 5 minutes for both fishes. Maybe cos these are mid size. Anyway, this lunch is a typical cooking-without-recipe meal in this house. It is now a real challenge sweltering in the kitchen with a cookbook.

I didn't realised that it has been a 3 months since the last recipe testing. My apologies to my faithful foodie readers for feeding you all my blabberings during this time (this is assuming you are still around to read this apology!). This is another Cook's Illustrated recipe, which needless to say that I didn't follow it to the last word, came from a book I'd gotten two years back but didn't even attempt a single recipe from it. Yes, I am one such a person who hordes cookbooks and reads them cover to cover. But that is another post altogether. Back to our Chicken Cacciatore. When I flipped through Italian Classics , I was reminded of the perfume of simmering tomatoes with basil, heady frangance of roasting garlics and tastes of delectable morsels of pastas/pizzas/antipasti doled out by the cooks from an Italian restaurant which I worked in during my school days. Names of dishes, ingredients and wines sound so familiar and makes me wonder if the book will be a

Back In October last year, I put up a post with photographs of my fridge and freezer and I had friends asking if I really only have 3 persons staying in this house. Yes, and there is still 3 only currently. Today, I decided that it is high time for another round of purging of the fridge. This is my fridge before purging. And here's what is on the door shelves. After a quick 5 minute boogie, with alot of bottles being dug out from deep inside and tossed, here's a second look at my fridge. Not a jaw dropping makeover. But at least I can see more of my fridge lighting. Also, all the bottles of medicine which I had kept for those just-in-case-situations were emptied out and bottles recycled. Now I wonder why I didn't toss them earlier for I definitely won't be giving them to my girl even if she falls sick today. Touch wood! During the 5 minute raid I have found a few more ideas on on what to cook for the weeks ahead! Are you purging your fridge? Let me know,

Have you noticed the book review column that appears sporadically on The Sunday Times Lifestyle section? I certainly have, since I am an avid cookbook collector, such columns are a must. So imagine my excitment when I saw one of the books reviewed was a book which is one of my treasured collection since my Beef Barley Soup . I have not tried all of the recipes from Cover & Bake but suffice to say that there hasn't been a single recipe from Cook's Illustrated that has disappointed me to-date. So what do I think about the review on the papers? B.O.R.I.N.G. I am so tired of reading another reviewer saying to yield good results from using this book, or any of Cook's Illustrated books, one would need to "perish the thought of deviating even the tiniest bit from the dictatorial directions". That's what the reviewer said, but I beg to differ. Just going through my posts, I realised that I have more than deviated from those "dictatorial directions"

There seems to be alot of reading for me to catch up on online. And that is just being offline for 9 days. Here are just some of the things that I find interesting that I would like to bookmark it here. Food Hampers SuperNature can customise hampers and gifts. It also sends weekly food boxes , or should I call it fruits and veggie boxes. Next time I go housewarming I will bring this instead. Home Cook Challenge Here's an interesting alternative for reality TV if you are sick of Iron Chef. Boneless, skinless chicken breast in 5 ways? Cajun, battered, ... oow, shucks, I out of ideas. By the way, Mother's Day is coming up. Anyone has any idea where to pig out?

No, I am not refering to the hobbit's tale. I've gone on a holiday and am back again. In fact, I have been back for a week already, but just haven't gotten around to unpack and completely unwilling to return to my daily routines. Guess all good things must come to an end. Be back again shortly.