Saturday 19th Apr '08

GIRLS NIGHT OUT!
After work I went to Marissa's for some coffee and biscuits before we headed out for dinner. Mrs Pelle (Marissa's mum) had been over earlier during the day to make some homemade pasta which was hanging to dry. I've watched her making pasta before and I'd love to give it a go one day when I get around to purchasing my own pasta machine.


We went to the restaurant at the Broken Hill Hotel in Victoria Park. We were having dinner with Ellie, Debbie, Anna and Tash.


We skipped the entrees and just had a main. Most of us had the 'fish and chips' - Emperor Fillets while Anna and I had the Lime Seared Scallops with a mango and bok choy salad. I also had a side of the Mashed Potato which they served drizzled with olive oil and shaved parmesan.

For dessert, Anna had the Fig and Walnut Pudding (I think!??) and Debbie and I shared the Chocolate Panacotta. We both found it too rich and weren't able to even get through half of it. Disappointing.


Overall, we all had a great night and I'm looking forward to our next catchup.

Friday 18th Apr '08

Today after work I went grocery shopping with making soup in mind. I wanted something hearty but not heavy.

Chicken & Vegetable Soup

1. Saute finely chopped garlic, diced onion, sliced celery, fennel and carrots in some olive oil.
   
2. When vegetables have softened, add water and bring to the boil. Add some vegetable stock if desired (ie Vegeta).
   
3. Put in a few maryland pieces, making sure they sit below the liquid level.
   
4. Simmer until chicken pieces are cooked, meanwhile skimming oil from the surface.

I also added pasta shells.

Deeee-licous!

Thursday 17th Apr '08

With half the clams to spare from last night, I made another pasta dish.

Spaghetti with olive oil, butter, garlic, onion, mushroom, spinach and clams.

I also used fresh homegrown basil from Marissa's garden. I decided tonight...if I ever get married, I will seriously consider using fresh basil as part of my bouquet. If I wore perfume, I would want it to be the scent of basil or other herbs. Yes. Smells good!

Wednesday 16th Apr '08

On the menu:

Clam Marinara with spaghetti

It's a pity that the clams I've been able to purchase lately are rather small. I'm going to have to look up when they're in season and/or find another source of these delicious little things.

Tuesday 15th Apr '08

On the menu:

Pork Chop stuffed with fetta, proscuitto & sundried tomatoes
and a dollop of Chilli Achar
with a side of Smashed Potato and Egg Plant.

Monday 14th Apr '-8

Creamy Mushroom Soup

1. Saute garlic, onion and mushrooms in pan with butter and plain flour.
   
2. Blend mixture and add cream until desired consistency is reached.
   
3. Reheat soup on stove and serve.

Yum Yum Yum =P~~

Sunday 13th Apr '08

On the menu tonight:

Roast Beef seasoned with garlic and rosemary
slowcooked in the oven with potato, carrot and onion.

I love my Corningware ovenproof/dishwasherproof/freezerproof/stoveproof cookware. I sealed the beef in the corningware dish on the stove, then transferred it to the preheated oven with a bit of vegetable stock and the vegetables.

Saturday 12th Apr '08

Today is a big day for food!

For lunch I found a recipe for Seafood Chowder online and it turned out awesome! I would love to make different types of soup more often but it's just such a hassle to get the blender out from the back of the cupboard and to take it apart and wash afterwards. But it's worth it!

I started by frying celery, onion, garlic, fennel and potatoes. Fish stock added, then the mixture blended and cream added to give it a creamy consistency. The soup is then reheated on the stove and diced snapper, prawns and scallops added. *smacks her lips*



Later tonight...

IRON CHEF NIGHT
Ingredient: TOFU

The contestants and dishes:

Kong: Tofu Spring Rolls

Ling & Shallen: 'My Pork' Tofu

Sarena: They're Spicy, They're hot,
They're my Chicken Tofu Pots!
Meng & Yen Chen: Rose Tofu Dessert with Sago & Lychee



And the winner is...*DRUM ROLL* Sarena!

Friday 11th Apr '08

Tonight I had Ling, Shallen and Kong over for dinner. We started off with a platter and drinks.

I decided to experiment for dinner tonight. I stuffed some maryland pieces of chicken with Danish Fetta,, Semi Sundried Tomaties and Proschuitto. I then wrapped them first in baking paper, then aluminium foil and baked them in the oven. As a side, I roasted some vegetables (carrots, zucchini, eggplant and onion) and mixed these with butter through some couscous. Alas, the photo I took was blurry so you'll just have to imagine it. Great colours to contrast the chicken.

The chicken came out really tender and juicy. Experiment a success methinks!



Simba got a special treat tonight. Chicken and spring vegetables.

Thursday 10th Apr '08

Tonight the boys and I hit Outback Jack's Bar & Grill in Fremantle. Barry was keen on attempting the Outback Jack's Challenge.

The Challenge:
Consume a 1kg steak, 0.5kg vegetables and 0.5kg wedges
in under 30 minutes and the MEAL IS FREE!
The Challengers:

The Outcome:
MISSION FAILED
There's a baby in my tummy

Cameron and I settled for regular people sized steaks and a show.

Later at home, I got the munchies and made myself a platter. Grapes, goats cheese, Italian chilli salami, panchetta and crackers.

Wednesday 9th Apr '08

Woo - no work for the next five days! I woke up and cooked okra for lunch. Here's an adaptation of the recipe I found online that I used. Instead of using frozen baby okra that I purchased from the Chinese supermarket last time, I was able to get my hands on some fresh okra this time. Not much difference so it really depends on which one is more readily available.

Tuesday 8th Apr '08

After work today, I met up with Ling and Shallen to have dinner at Viet Hoa in Northbridge before the long awaited Celine Dion concert.

As usual, I ordered my number 42 from the menu: Bun Bo Hue- Spicy Beef Noodle Soup

The concert was amazing. Celine Dion has always been a favourite artist of mine since high school. I remember sitting in home economics class working on whatever we were doing at the time, and we had the radio on. They played her 'Because You Loved Me' and I fell in love with it. I later found out from Ling who sang the song. Being a fan of her, he made up cassettes - yes cassettes - of her songs and introduced me to her other work. Seeing her perform live has been on my 'things to do before I die' list and I finally ticked it off in 2006 when I saw her performing live at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. It was wonderful being able to go to her concert again and this time to share it with two of my closest friends.

Monday 7th Apr '08

Tonight after work I whipped up a tuna pasta dish I learnt to cook in home economics class back in high school. It's evolved over the years with additions such as chilli, basil and white wine, but the basic recipe has stayed the same over the years.

Sunday 6th Apr '08

Today Marie and I went to Ling and Shallen's place for lunch. We sat down to a delicous gourmet salad with mixed salad leaves, roasted pumpkin and chicken.


My mum usually makes me Shark Fin Soup once a year for my birthday because it's one of my all time favourite foods. Yes, I know I should be taking a stance and boycotting it to help save the sharks in the world...but it's oh so so delicious *sigh*

The longest I've had to wait for this delicacy was three years. My mum promised each year to make it for me for my birthday but was always too busy to get around to making it. When she finally did, boy was it worth it!

Tonight's shark fin soup tasted funny because my Mum made it different to every other time she's made it. It just wasn't the same and instead of polishing off what they had left for me, I only had one bowl. I found out later that my mum had added some left over eggwhites from some other dish she was making and it had not cooked at the same consistency that the egg white usually does. Bugger.

Saturday 5th Apr '08

My dinner after work:

Porterhouse with garlic, chilli and rosemary
with a side of sliced Cajun seasoned Sweet Potato and Potato chips

Friday 4th Apr'08

After work tonight, I was craving some eggs. My mum buys eggs in bulk so they're not always the freshest and tend not to poach very well. I decided to give it a go poaching them with gladwrap as I've seen them do on 'Ready Steady Cook'. They worked out great! Could have probably done with another minute or so in the hot water to allow the eggs to hold their shape better.

I also fried some garlic, chilli, mushrooms, tomatoes and onion in butter.

Craving satisfied.

Thursday 3rd Apr '08

After work tonight, I made Spicy Chicken Bee Hoon Soup.

Wednesday 2nd Apr '08

Before work I cooked myself some lunch.

On the menu:

Beef Rump with a Mushroom & Peppercorn Sauce
served on a bed of Mashed Royal Blue

Would have been better if it was a porterhouse or sirloin.

Tuesday 1st Apr '08

Today I went to work although still feeling a bit under the weather. On the way home I had to get petrol and could not resist buying this jam and cream donut when I was at the checkout.

YUM YUM YUM


Simba was eyeing off my donut too.

Monday 31st Mar '08

Today I felt somewhat better but was craving sugar like crazy. Might have had something to do with not being able to keep any food down over the whole weekend. That's right, I spent most of Sunday in bed too.

I had a craving for something light but sugary sweet, so I baked. I don't tend to bake much and when I do, I rarely eat what I've made. Just not much of a dessert/cake person anymore. Anyhow, I made some little 'Strawberry Powder Puffs' with a few alterations.

Firstly, I did not have any fresh strawberries so I looked for jam. I didn't have any strawberry jam so I used blueberry jam. Hence, I made BLUEBERRY POWDER PUFFS. I polished off half of them. They're like little mini sponge cakes with jam and cream.