Dainty Bites

This is the re-take version of the previous attempt . Ahh ... *sigh* I love my cammy. I have been meaning to cook clams for a while, but never had the guts to walk up to the wet fish counter at the supermarket, pick up the itcky looking mini shovel and scoop some clams with it. Well, I did it and lived to tell about it. Cooking the clams was easy but the cleaning was not. All I knew was that they were suppose to soak in water until they spit out whatever sand they had accumulated within. That was what I did but just before I took the numerous lives, I hesistated and ran for my Joy of Cooking. A quick check and it asked for an additional step of scrubbing each clam individually. Oh gosh! I remembered I was very glad that I stayed my hand, for after the scrubbing, the whole bowl of soaking water was quite dirty looking! Imagine that in the sauce!! Ahh ... *sigh* I love my Joy of Cooking . The clams makes a wonder addition visually as well as in taste. To cook this just follow the r

Argh ... This photo looks even more pathetic here, but it was the only shot I managed from my handphone camera. Cammy's battery was totally juiced. Sigh ... I had been excited to share this dish, but looking that the photo above, all the wind left me. Suffice to say that: (a) I was inspired to try this dish after numerous dinners at Al Forno, which was the oven roasted version; (b) it was a simple to prepare but tasted elegant and delicious; and (c) it will be a good crowd impressing dish. ************************** Pan-fried Salmon in White Wine Sauce (adapted from Joy of Cooking - '97 ed.) ************************** Olive oil 450g salmon fillet, pat dry Salt and black pepper 2 tbsp plain flour 5 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 cup white wine 1/2 cup chicken stock Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved Salt and pepper to taste 1. Heat olive oil in pan until hot. 2. Combine salt, pepper and flour on a plate. 3. Dust the fillet with the flour mixture. 4. Add fillet to pan, skin side

I know. I tend to have a tendency for overdoing. I just made another dinner from Cooking Know-How . But you can hardly call twice overdoing, right? Hey, it is not my fault that the photos in the book looked so delicious and so convenient that I can mix and match anything that I can dig out from the fridge. Last night's dinner was Pork Chops with Zucchini and Asparagus. Just like what the book said, it is really a weekday dinner. Fast, delicious and satisfying. ***************************** Pork Chops with Zucchini and Asparagas (adapted from Cooking Know-How) ***************************** 2 tbsp olive oil 4 pieces of pork chops (about 150g each), tenderised Salt and pepper, to taste 1 med onion, chopped 1 zucchini, chopped 10-12 stalks asparagus, chopped 1 cup chicken stock Salt and pepper, to taste 1. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. 2. Heat oil in a pan and add the chops when oil is hot. 3. Brown the chops. When done, remove to a plate. 4. Add onion to the pan

With all the herbs growing in the planter, I am hard pressed for what to do with them. Strange. This feels like the tail wagging the dog. Finding a recipe which uses a combination of the herbs that I have proved to be an easy enough task. The answer: Beef Stew. Not that I don't like my previous version of beef stew , but I am always happy to try new ways of cooking it. Yesterday's beef stew came from Cooking Know-How . As I flip through the pages, I felt that this book was specially written for people like me who don't take well to instructions , especially cooking instructions. I always feel that cooking is more art than science, therefore it is okay to let some of my creative juice leach into my cooking. This book teaches a basic techinique and offers up many different combinations for you to pick and choose. Think of it as playing with paper dolls . The combination seems endless and the recipes made to be very accomodating. But how does the stew tastes? It was deli

In the 3 weeks since I bought those plants, I have been either busy with checking the soil, watering the plants or surfing the net the read up more about those babies sitting in the planter. And everyday, I seem to learn new facts about them and tips on how to care and maintain them. Well, like I always like to say: we learn as we go along. After observing them for the past weeks, here are just some notes to remind myself. MINT * Heavy drinker and likes moist soil. * Grows fast, hence require agressive pruning. * It received direct morning sunlight for about 3 hours, and partial shade for the rest of day. This seems to be suit the plant fine, but I realised that the lower leaves tend to turn yellowish or dry out. But this could be due to my initial lack of watering. I am seeing new buds coming out from within. * It roots easily where the plant touches the soil. BASIL * Moderate to heavy drinker. Water when the soil dries out. * Grows fast, hence require agressive pruning. * See

What comes to your mind when someone says: "Country bumpkin"? In my mind, it refers someone who is unsophisticated and most probably came from a rual area. But I realised that the opposite is also true. I am a city bumpkin. Why? Cos for the first time in 30 years, the plants of the veggies which are very much part of my daily life looked like! I saw yam, ladies fingers (aka okra), tapioca, long beans, sugar cane, corn, rice, dragon fruit, spinach, and plenty of others still growing in the soil. Wow! So now you see what a city bumpkin I am? Pity that I didn't bring my cammy along, but I doubt that I would be snapping much given how enchanted I was by the hot, mosquito-infested, undulating farm. The farm I am talking about is not your usual farm with neat rows of veggies growing in their designated spot, but a place where someone who is passionate enough to till the ground, wire the cables for the creepers, tie the weaker stems to stakes, and watch the plants grow where